The Tri-Blade Alliance
by Arctic01
Summary: Trapped. Like mice in a maze. The walls are closing in, and the only way out is to beat the game. To go it alone would be suicide. We need all the manpower we can get, and then some. Screw the reward. We'll break out of here. And we'll win. With the strongest players and guilds and...him, we can and will beat this game and escape with as little casualties as possible.
1. Chapter 1: Link Start!

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 1: Link Start!**

 **A/N: Hey guys, it's Arctic01 here! I'm back and collabing another** **story with SolarEnergy07!**

 **Sorry I haven't updated the Arctic: Origins story, but I have been swamped and, in all honesty, I find the current arc I'm working on to be boring AF. So, I'll rush it and I'm back with a Sword Art Online story.**

A teenage male with black hair and red eyes was sitting at his computer. He had been working on it. On his nightstand sat his NerveGear. On the computer, the screen had the words "ACCEPT CHANGES?". He guided the mouse to the YES option and clicked it, and sat back with a sigh. He heard a knock on his door, and he got up to open it. In the hallway of his house stood an older man, possibly in his early twenties.

"Are you ready?" the man asked.

"Not yet, Nii-chan*," the younger male replied.

"Then get ready, it's almost time."

"Got it." He closed the door. The teenager readied his NerveGear, checked to see if the game was ready, and put on his NerveGear as he lied on his bed.

 **(x)**

Another teenage male with black hair and blue eyes sat on his computer listening to the news on the radio near his nightstand.

He was smiling as he thought about how lucky he was being one of the beta testers, among a thousand others. He heard a knock on his door and took off his earbuds. "Onii-chan*, we're leaving," a female voice said.

"Be safe," he replied. When he heard the door close downstairs, a thought came into his mind. He opened his window and shouted down to the two girls who left the house. "HEY!" He shouted.

"Yeah?" The two girls questioned as they turned around.

"Kick their asses for me, okay?!" He smiled and held out a fist. The younger girl gave a happy, closed-eyed smile as she copied what her older brother did.

"Got it!" She replied.

"And save some lives today, Onee-chan*!" He said to the older woman.

"Alright," the woman chuckled.

When they went down the street, he closed his window and prepped his NerveGear. He lied down on his bed and got ready to log on.

 **(x)**

A teenage girl sat on her computer desk, staring out the window in thought. She had long, straight black hair and kind yellow eyes. She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she said. The door opened and a woman walked in.

"I'm leaving now," she said as she embraced the teenage girl. "Make sure all the doors and windows are locked before you log on."

"Okay, Okaa-san*," the girl said as she returned the hug and gave the woman a kiss on the cheek. When the woman left, the girl locked her window, and proceeded to lock all of the other windows and the back and front doors. When she finished locking the front door, she looked at the time and squealed in excitement. She ran up to her room and put on her NerveGear, after checking it was in place and that the game was inside. She lied down on her bed as the time transitioned from 12:59 PM to 1:00 PM. She smiled.

 **(x)**

Elsewhere, another teenage boy was sitting on his computer desk. When his sister informed him that she was leaving, he gave no response, as the music playing on his headphones was loud enough to block out all other sound. When the girl was leaving, she looked up forlornly at her onii-chan's bedroom window. As she walked to school, the boy prepped his NerveGear and lied on his bed. When the time read 1:00 PM, he smiled.

 **(x)**

The girl smiled.

 **(x)**

The other two boys smiled. Simultaneously, all four teenagers said the magic words: "LINK…START!"

 _Sight: OK_

 _Smell: OK_

 _Touch: OK_

 _Taste: OK_

 _Hearing: OK_

 _Username: ******_

 _Password: *************_

The player looked down at his hands, now clad in brown fingerless gloves. He looked up at the gates and smiled. He looked different now: he was taller, older, and his black hair was longer on one side, as it was swept to the right and hung over his face. He clenched his fists and held one out as he said, "Hello, world. I'm back!" Countless others behind him cheered as the gates to the floating castle Aincrad opened.

 **Translation: Onii-chan** ― **Older Brother**

 **Nii-chan** ― **abbreviation for Onii-Chan**

 **Onee-chan** ― **Older Sister**

 **Okaa-san** ― **Mom**


	2. Chapter 2: Trapped

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 2: Trapped**

 **A/N: Another chapter out. I think I like the short chapters. Anyways, the story, hopefully, will get popular.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.**

 **(x)**

The player sprinted through the bazaar excitedly. It felt so good to be back here. He listened to the various conversations that the players were having with each other. He felt happy here. Honest to god happiness. However, he knows that he has to log out soon. Still, he can have as much fun as he wants to have now, because nothing's stopping him.

He rushed to a field where countless other players were hanging out and talking amongst themselves. He even saw a couple of players fighting some mobs. They were relatively new, so it took them a while.

As he sprinted past a corner, he felt the wind of someone else running past him. When that player looked back, the current player saw a male player with short, vibrant blue hair that was slicked back, and blue eyes the same shade as his hair, and they held an experienced, but kind light inside. The player was clad in all blue clothing, and he already got a cloak to wear, though he neglected to put on the hood. That person was an all too familiar face to the player.

 **(x)**

Another player felt the same feeling of happiness as the aforementioned player. When he ran past the previous player, he looked back and was happy to see a familiar face. "Kirito?" he questioned, with a smile on his face.

"Arctic. Hey. Long time no see, right?" the player, now revealed to be Kirito, replied.

"I know," the other player, now known as Arctic, gave back as an answer. "Have you seen the others around?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Dammit," Arctic said under his breath. He was hoping to see the other two at least at the start of the game.

"Maybe they got caught up with their own things," Kirito said in an assuring tone.

"Yeah," Arctic replied. "They'll be safe anyway."

"Of course. We were beta testers, the four of us."

After the two finished their conversation, they started running again. However, just as they started running down an alley, they heard a voice call out to them. "Hey!" the voice shouted. "Wait up!" The two players stopped and turned around to see a male player with long red hair held up by a bandana, save for one thick bang, run up to them. When he caught up to them, he doubled over gasping for breath.

"Um," Arctic started. "Who the hell are you?"

"Don't be rude," Kirito nudged Arctic. Turning back to the player, Kirito asked, "Although who _are_ you? I don't recall seeing you in the beta test."

"Yeah, sorry." The new player said sheepishly. "I overheard your conversation and the both of you said that you were ex-beta testers. I'm Klein," the player isn't introduced himself with a thumbs up, "and I was wondering if you guys could give me some pointers."

"Arctic," Arctic said introducing himself. "And my friend here is Kirito." Kirito waved to Klein. "And yeah, we're beta testers. We'll be happy to show you a couple things." When he finished talking, Arctic and Kirito opened up their friends lists and each sent a friend request to Klein, both of which he happily accepted. "Think of us as your friends, Klein. And I fight for my friends."

Klein smiled. "Awesome!" he said.

 **(x)**

"Okay, Klein," Arctic said. The three of them were now in a grassy field where tons of low-level monsters wandered. "Show us what you know!" Klein nodded and turned to a boar that was facing them. It squealed and charged Klein. Klein charged a sword skill, but he clumsily swung, which resulted in him getting knocked down and losing a bit of his health. Kirito went to face the boar.

"Okay, Klein," Kirito said. "Watch me!" He charged up a sword skill and waited for the boar to charge him. When it did, he dodged and swung downwards at the boar. The monster died in one hit, as shown by said monster shattering into crystals which floated away and disintegrated.

Klein was awestruck. "That was awesome!"

"Okay," Arctic said. "What he did was charge up a sword skill, and he waited for the right time to hit the boar, then he brought it home!" As Klein tried using a sword skill, he started giggling in delight. "Yeah, it gets kind of addictive."

"Thanks, man!" Klein said, moving to hug Kirito. Before he could do so, however, Kirito kicked him in the balls, which sent him on his ass.

While Klein clutched his package in pain, Kirito explained, "You're in a video game. It doesn't hurt."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Klein said, sitting up after that realization. "A kick to the balls doesn't really hurt as much."

"Hey, what's the time?" Arctic asked. In response, Klein pulled up the menu and showed him. The time read 5:25 PM. "Whoa, it's that time already? Sorry, guys. I have to log out. I need to pick up my imouto* from practice."

"Yeah," Kirito said. "Me too."

"I have a pizza and ginger ale coming to me by 5:30," Klein said. "I'll see you guys later." Klein pulled up the menu, but was confused at what he saw. "Um, guys, I don't mean to be a noob, but where's the logout option?"

Arctic looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?" he half-asked, half-deadpanned. "It's right-" he stopped when he didn't see the aforementioned option. "Hey, he's right. Where'd it go?"

Before anyone can reply, they felt themselves being teleported.

 **(x)**

When his vision cleared, Arctic looked around and he saw all of the players, himself included, in the town square. Everyone was looking around confused.

After about 2 minutes, one of the players gasped in horror as she looked at the sky. "Look!" she shouted, pointing at the afternoon sky. As everyone copied her, they were horrified to see a single hexagonal image reading, "ERROR," multiplying into many more, until they completely filled the sky, creating a dome. From the gaps, a liquid that looked eerily similar to blood started to seep through.

The blood pooled in the air to form a massive figure whose body was covered by a cloak of the same color as the aforementioned liquid. His hood was preventing everyone from seeing what he looked like.

"Attention, players," the figure began, raising his arms to his sides, "I welcome you to my world."

"What's he mean by that?" Kirito whispered to Arctic and Klein, to which, in response, Arctic shrugged.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba," the figure, revealed to be the game's creator, continued. "And as of this moment, I am in control of this world." Kirito gasped, recognizing the name as one of his heroes, along with others as they realized that they were being spoken to by the creator of the game. "I'm sure most of you have noticed the item missing from your main menu. The logout button." Kayaba opened up the menu to show what he was talking about. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

"He's… kidding, right?" Klein nervously asked Kirito and Arctic, neither of whom gave a response.

Kayaba continued, "You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter in the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

Various conversation erupted between the players; Arctic, Klein, Kirito, and a bunch of other players kept silent and continued listening to what Kayaba had to say. Two players attempted to leave, but an invisible force field pushed them back.

"Are you listening to this crap?" Klein looked towards Arctic and Kirito. Neither responded. He turned to the beta testers. "He's gotta be nuts, right. Right, Kirito?"

"He's right," Kirito responded, still looking forward. "The transmitter in the NerveGear works just like a microwave. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."

"Couldn't we cut the power, or something?"

"That won't work." This time, Arctic replied. "The NerveGear has an internal battery."

Groaning in frustration, Klein said, "This is crazy. It's totally crazy!"

"Despite my warning," Kayaba continued, "the families and friends of several players attempted to remove their NerveGears. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"213?!" Kirito repeated in shock.

"No way." Klein said in shock. "I don't believe it!" he said while shaking his head.

"As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths," Kayaba stated as a headline read, 'Death Count Rises in Online-Game Incident'. "At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort to try and clear the game." Kirito, and possibly others, silently gasped and grit their teeth.

"It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system. Forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

Arctic and Kirito gasped in horror. They both envisioned themselves being taken out by monsters: Arctic from an ambush of players, and Kirito from a monster hitting him with enough power to deplete his HP in one shot. They both clenched their fists.

Kayaba continued. "There is only one way for a player to escape now: you must clear the game." He pulled up the map. "Right now, you are gathered in floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game," he said as the highest level on Aincrad, on the map, glowed red for emphasis. Again, conversation erupted between the players, asking each other what he meant by "clearing the game."

"Why should we believe any of the crap you're saying?!" one of the players who was trying to leave shouted.

"We can't clear all 100 floors," Klein muttered. "That's freaking impossible. Even the beta testers never made it that high!"

"And last, but not least," Kayaba went on, "I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." Arctic and Kirito opened up their inventory, and saw an item labeled "Mirror".

"Huh? A mirror?" Arctic asked himself. He selected, and a handheld mirror formed into his hand. He looked into it and saw his reflection. He then heard the cries of players all around him, including… "Klein? Kirito?! Guys, what's going on?!" Suddenly, he was engulfed in a bright light, and when all the lights cleared, all of the players looked...different. Their faces and bodies and, in many cases, their gender had suddenly changed. Some girls became boys, and vice versa; some people who were skinny suddenly gained weight; and everyone had different faces and appearances. He then realized that the player's true bodies and faces were being revealed, despite them already having avatars!

"Kirito, Arctic, are you guys ok?" a player who, Arctic thought, was Klein asked them.

"Yeah, we're fine…" When they saw Klein, he looked immensely different. Now, his hair was shorter and spiked up, and he had stubble now. In a way, he looked… older than his avatar was. "Who the hell are you?"

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Klein pointed a finger at Arctic, then moved it to Kirito. "Who are you, and what have you done with Arctic and Kirito?!"

"What do you mean?! I'm Arctic, and that's Kiri...to…" After getting a look at the new Kirito, Arctic saw that this Kirito was far younger than his avatar, and his hair was _way_ shorter than his avatar's hair was.

"Arctic? Is that you?" Kirito asked Arctic. From his eyes, Kirito saw, in Arctic's place, a teenager slightly older than him, by about a year. His hair length and eye color stayed the same, but the facial structure and the light in his eyes were more innocent than experienced. His hair was messy and spiked in various directions, although the front part remained swept to the left. The spikes appeared to be natural-not too long or too short-and it suited him, making him look cool, but not intentionally.

"You look...different," Arctic replied.

"I can say the same about you."

"But...but how?" Klein questioned, just as confused as the other two.

"The scan…" Kirito said.

"Yeah," Arctic replied in realization. "There's a high-density signal device inside the NerveGear rig."

"It can see what our faces look like," Kirito continued. "But how does it know my height and body type?"

"When you first put the NerveGear on," Klein replied, "it had to do this calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over like this, remember?" he said as he demonstrated the required action.

"Oh, yeah," Kirito said. "You're right. That's where it got our physical data."

"But...this is..." Klein continued. "What's the point?" he said, exasperated. "Why would anyone do this to us?!"

Arctic pointed to Kayaba. "I think he's about to tell us," he stated.

Sure enough, he was. "Right now," Kayaba started again, "you're probably wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design."

"Kayaba," Arctic and Kirito said quietly, but menacingly.

"As you can see," Kayaba continued, "I have achieved my goal." By this point, Kirito and Arctic both had a murderous glint in their eyes as they grit their teeth and clenched their hand into fists. "This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players," he said to finish his speech. "I wish you the best of luck." When he said that, he started to glitch out as red mist seeped through his outfit and he disappeared as his clothes dropped.

When the mist disappeared through the dome, it glitched and the afternoon sky reappeared once again. All of the players were left standing, frozen in horror. Kirito kept his eyes down. He felt and saw blood dripping from the cut he accidentally gave himself earlier. When the blood streamed down his hand, he looked and saw it disappear. _It's not a game_ , he thought. _It's real_. He formed a fist with his hand. _Akihiko Kayaba created a virtual world._ He _designed the NerveGear rig. The man's a genius. I've been a fan of his for a long time, so I know:_ Everything _he just said is the truth. If we die in the game, we die in real life!_

The mirror dropped from Arctic's hands as he thought, _He's not kidding. This is really happening! If that's true_...he looked up. _Then I'll just have to beat Sword Art Online!_

One player cried out as she bumped into someone. That brought everybody back to their senses as they rushed out, proclaiming that they shouldn't be here, that they have people to meet.

Arctic saw the force field dissipate. He narrowed his eyes as he said, "Klein, follow us." He ran forward while Kirito pulled Klein with him.

 **(x)**

"Listen," Kirito said to Klein and Arctic. "I'm heading out right now for the next village. I want you to come."

"Huh?" Klein asked, confused.

"If what he said is true, then the only way we're gonna survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible," he continued as he pulled up the map. "In an MMORPG, the money you can earn, the XP. Once it starts up, there's only so much of that stuff to go around. Look, the fields around the Town of Beginnings are gonna be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village right now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points. Don't worry, Arctic and I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if we're level one, we can get there easy." He closed the map.

"Well," Klein said uncertainly, "thanks, but...you know all those friends of mine I was telling you about? We stood in line for a whole _night_ to buy this." He gasped in realization. "They're back at the plaza somewhere. I can't leave 'em." Kirito looked at Klein; he saw his health bar, and the green icon over his head. He looked at his own health bar. Beneath it read: Kirito; 250/250; LV: 1.

"I'll join with you, Kirito," Arctic spoke up. Kirito looked back up; he had almost forgotten he was there, as he was uncharacteristically silent. "You're my friend. And if we're lucky, then the others will have the same idea as us, and we can meet up." Kirito nodded and looked back down.

 _If it were just Klein_ , he thought. _But_ two _more... Or even_ one _more…_

"Sorry," Klein said with his eyes closed, snapping the two beta testers out of their stupor. "Can't ask a couple of guys I just met to risk their lives for a bunch of strangers, can I?" He opened his eyes to look at his two new friends. "So don't worry about me. Get your asses to the next village." To reassure the two, he gave a thumbs up, smiled and said, "I'll be fine. Last game I played, I ran a guild, so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you both taught me, I'll get by, no sweat!"

Kirito and Arctic were silent for a moment. Finally, Kirito responded. "Okay," he said. "If that's what you want, we'll get we'll hopefully meet up with you again, sometime soon."

"Right," Arctic chimed in. "We'll be seeing ya Klein. And remember, don't die."

"Of course," Klein said. "And you fight for your friends, remember? If I need help, I'll call on you guys. No sweat."

"Right," Arctic said sheepishly. "I did say that, didn't I?" Holding his hand out for a handshake, Arctic said before leaving, "Goodbye for now, Klein."

After shaking Arctic's hand and watching the beta tester leave, Klein turned to Kirito, who nodded in return and turned to leave. Before he could leave, Klein called out, "Hey Kirito!" Kirito stopped and turned around. "You look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar."

Having turned around fully, Kirito smiled and said "Yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better, too." Having said that, Kirito turned around and sped after Arctic. When he finally caught up to Arctic, they sped through the plains. They both silently vowed to escape this nightmare with their friends, or by themselves. Whatever it takes to win.

As they vowed to themselves, they both charged up their sword skills while running towards two mobs that stood in their paths. They cut through each mob with ease, Arctic with his left hand, and Kirito with his right. They swore that they would defy the cruel rules of this system, that they would not bow before this system. No matter the cost.

 _After one month of the start of_ Sword Art Online _, over two thousand players were killed before the first floor boss could be found._

 **Read &Review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends and New Allies

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 3: Old Friends and New Allies**

 **A/N: Hello, everybody! I'm back with another chapter of the Tri-Blade Alliance. And for all of you Kirito/Asuna shippers; don't worry. I won't ruin that pairing in any way, and I'll do my best to follow the canon. Collabed with SolarEnergy07 (I forgot to add that in the previous chapters, and this entire story is collabed with Solar.)**

 **I also forgot to add this at the end of the last chapter:**

 **Imouto is Japanese for "younger sister"**

 **Also, I paraphrased the Floor 1 meeting a bit, and I made some edits to the previous chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own SAO.**

 _It's been a month since SAO began. In that time, over two thousand players have been killed, and we still can't find the first floor boss. It makes no damn sense. Kirito and I are two of the beta testers, but the boss isn't where we remember it was. Is Kayaba screwing with us?_

 _Speaking of Kirito, he and I went our separate ways about a month ago. It was his suggestion, so we could both solo-grind EXP and hopefully reach decent levels. I'm level 28 now, and I can only imagine how Kirito's doing. Knowing him, he's at least level 25 by now. We handed out some guidebooks to the new players some time before we split up. It wouldn't have been fair otherwise. We can't beat this game by ourselves. Which is why we need backup. And I know the perfect people._

 _(x)_

Arctic was sitting at a bar in a tavern, where he was staying the night. He was waiting for someone who had a really bad habit of-

"Kept you waiting, huh?" a very familiar voice called out to Arctic. Turning around, he saw an old friend walking towards him while waving.

"Kirito. It's been a while," Arctic said getting up to give his friend a brofist.

"Yeah, it really has been. What level are you?" Kirito asked.

"I reached level 28 a couple days ago. I need to kill one more mob to reach level 29. How about you? You're level 25 at least, right?"

Kirito smirked. "Try already level 29."

"You fucking hacker."

"So why'd you call me here?"

Arctic smiled. "Well, I used my friend tracker to find out where you were, and I saw that you were in town. I recommend this tavern, and I wanted to catch up."

"That's not all, is it?"

"I can't put anything past you, Kirito." Arctic turned back and sat at the bar. As Kirito took the seat next to him, Arctic ordered two drinks; one for himself, and the other for Kirito. While the drinks were being made, Arctic continued, "I was thinking about how we were going to clear this game. And not just you and me. I'm talking about all of the players in Aincrad. You and I are going to need some extra help. We can't keep going as just the two of us."

When their drinks were brought, Arctic thanked the bartender and gave him a generous amount of Col in exchange for his excellent services. To the both of them, Col was not a problem. They could literally do raids and earn a hell of a lot more than what they spend. "So you're saying that we need to take in more players? Wouldn't that be a bad idea, seeing as how most of the players still alive are new to the game and slowly learning?"

"Who said I was talking about new players?"

"So you mean…"

"That's right, Kirito. I tracked down two extremely skilled players to this town. With skills that only beta testers could have. And they are two that we met before. That's the whole reason why I was in this town in the first place."

"So you're talking about-"

Before Kirito could finish what he was saying, a player barged in through the doors of the tavern, startling everyone currently in the bar. He was yelling, "Everyone come outside! There's a duel going on right now!" With that, all of the patrons, as well as the bartender, went outside to see the supposed duel.

Looking back towards Kirito, Arctic said, "Maybe we'll get lucky and find who we're looking for."

"Right. Remember, if not the face, then look for any signature moves or fighting styles."

"Gotcha." With that being said, Arctic and Kirito went outside and saw that a duel was indeed happening.

(x)

"Whoa, take it easy man," one of the duelists tried to defuse the situation. "I don't want to accidentally hurt you. Or worse."

The other duelist laughed. "How can a kid like you hurt me?! I'm a fucking tank!"

Sighing after realizing there was no way out of this, the previous duelist said, "Let's see then, shall we?" in a voice and tone that was very much different than his lighthearted and fun tone before. Now, he was dead serious.

Without further delays, the countdown, which had been nearing 0 while banter was exchanged between the two, had finally reached 0. The younger duelist charged the older duelist with a speed that was impossible for a new player to have after only one month in the game, and performed a Sword Spin move, before turning his back to the other and, much to the shock of everyone watching the duel, did a Spinning Stab technique right after the Sword Spin ended. The older duelist's health was on the brink of yellow, but it finally reached yellow when the younger duelist spun around and performed an uppercut to knock the man back. That ended the duel. The caption above the victor read, "And the Winner is… Solar!"

"Tank, my ass," the victor spat to the loser, who was still on his ass from the uppercut.

"Yep. That's one of them," the victor, Solar, overheard one player say the other. The outfits of both seemed very familiar. That's when he realized that the reason why the outfits and voices of the two speakers were familiar; he had met them both before, in the beta test of SAO.

"Arctic? Kirito? Is that really you guys?" Solar asked the two as they approached him.

"In the VR-flesh, my friend," Arctic introduced. "Have you heard from-"

"Yeah, actually I have. She told me that she was going to go grind by herself in the morning. She didn't tell me what tavern she'd be sleeping in, though." Solar said, as Arctic looked him over. Solar's outfit consisted of a primary sunset-red kind of color, with traces of jet black on his gauntlets, boots, and on the hilt of his blade, which was red as well. On his right wrist, he had a blood red wristband over the sleeve, with an identical jet black wristband on his left wrist. He had the standard outfit that most male players had on from the start of the game. His hair color was a blood-red/ bright red mixture to look intimidating to those who didn't know him, and warm and comforting to those that did know him. His eye color was a fierce, yet gentle red color. His hair was styled with his bangs in front, and a faux hawk above the bangs, high enough so that it sticks up above the rest of his neck-length hair, but not crazy-high.

"Great," Kirito said. "So what level are you?"

"Level 29."

"Is everyone a level higher than I am?!" Arctic all but shouted quietly.

Solar chuckled. "What's up _your_ ass?" he questioned Arctic.

Before he could answer, however, Kirito cut in. "He's level 28."

Solar laughed. "Don't worry, man," he said, still chuckling as he put a hand on Arctic's shoulder. "There'll be more mobs tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow," Kirito cut in, "there's going to be a meeting held. We're going to try and find the boss."

"Count me in," Solar said.

"Me too," Arctic answered. "But right now," he yawned, "I need my sleep." He turned and walked back towards the tavern , waving back at Kirito and Solar. "I'll see you in the morning!" he called out.

 **(x)**

When Arctic woke up, ate something, and headed outside the tavern, he honestly wasn't surprised to see Solar and Kirito waiting outside for him. "Morning, guys."

"Morning," the two replied.

"Kirito, when's the meeting?"

"In three hours."

"Perfect! That'll give us enough time to find our friend."

"Let's check the fields first," Solar said helpfully. "She's bound to be there, and we can some more grinding in as well. It's a win-win!"

"Yeah," Arctic replied. "You tagging along, Kirito?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there," Kirito answered. "I haven't eaten yet." As if to prove a point, Kirito's stomach growled embarrassingly loud.

"Okay, then. You just get some breakfast, and Arctic and I will meet you there."

(x)

Arctic shouted as he killed a mob with a strong slash. He cheered when he saw his level increase to 30. "How you holding up, Solar?!" he called to his friend.

"Hold on!" Solar shouted back. He screamed when he charged a sword skill and thrust his blade through the head of the monster, killing it. Solar cheered as well when his level hit 30. "Just reached level 30. You?"

"Same here." Before Arctic could say anymore, however, he heard a noise. "You hear that?" he asked Solar quietly. Solar nodded, and the two drew their blades and quietly ran towards the direction of the sound. When they reached the source of the noise, however, the two sheathed their blades and smiled.

In the middle of the field was a female player fighting a mob. The player charged up a sword skill and patiently waited for the monster to charge her. Sure enough, it did, and right before the monster could hit her, she jumped up high and thrust her blade down, stabbing the monster through the head and killing it. She let a cheer when she saw her level skyrocket to 30.

"Hey, that's―!" Solar said.

"Yep," Arctic replied, smiling. "It's her." After he finished saying that, he jumped down and shouted.

 **(x)**

The player sighed as she lied down on the grass. To get a better feeling of the sun on her face, she pulled her hood down. Right before she could enter a true state of bliss, however, she heard someone call her.

"Skye!" the voice shouted. She opened her eyes, irritated at how rudely she was shaken from her bliss. She got up and turned around, ready to shout, but stopped and smiled at seeing a friendly face; two of them, to be exact.

As Arctic walked up to Skye, he took in her new look: She was dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt, and a yellow skirt with stockings the same color as her shirt. She, too, had a cloak, but her hood was down. She had sunrise yellow hair that reached down to her back and and kind yellow eyes, as well as an ample body.

"Arctic? Solar?" she questioned, obviously happy to see them.

"Long time no see, right?" Solar asked, causing Arctic to frown.

"That's my line!" he complained. Skye laughed. They really hadn't changed.

As the three exchanged friendly banter, Arctic got a message from Kirito. Come to the plaza, the message read. "Everybody," Arctic announced, catching the attention of his two friends. "Let's head to the plaza. There's a meeting on how to beat the boss."

 **(x)**

"Okay people," a solo player clapped his hands together for everyone's attention at the podium, "now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started."

While the player was talking, Kirito worryingly looked around for any sign of his friends. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Arctic and Solar, along with Skye, show up and sit down together.

"So anyway," the player continued. "My name is Diabel, I have the job of knight in the system!"

Some players snickered, while others kept yelling that there was no job system in SAO.

Ignoring them, Diabel continued, "The reason why you were called here is because our squad team reported back." He paused. "We found the boss room." All the players who were ignoring him suddenly listened more intently, including the beta testers. "We'll all split into parties of six. That way, we can stand a better chance against any mobs in our way." Everybody gave sounds of agreement and confirmation. In no time at all, everybody had already formed parties with each other.

While Arctic, Solar, and Skye formed a party together, Kirito looked around and saw a female player who was sitting by herself. She wore a brown cloak and kept the hood up. He quickly scooted over to the girl, who showed no sign that she saw him. Kirito started a conversation her by saying, "Did you get left out, too?"

The girl responded with, "No. Most of the guys here seemed to be friends already, so I didn't want to intrude on anything."

"Well, do you wanna party up with me?" Kirito asked. When the girl gave no answer, Kirito added, "C'mon, it'll just be for this fight."

Hesitantly, the girl nodded, and accepted the party request that Kirito sent her. Kirito read her name when it showed up on his HUD: _Asuna_. Asuna looked away and focused back on Diabel.

"Alright, looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then―"

"Hold on a sec!"

Before he could finish talking, a random player jumped down from the top of the steps onto the podium. "My name's Kibaou, got that?! Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest." He turned to the audience. "We all know about the 2000 people who've died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize, right now!" The audience started to murmur, wondering what Kibaou meant.

"Kibaou," Diabel said. "I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?"

"Of course I mean them! The day this stupid-ass game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right?! They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots and they grabbed all the easy quests, too! They were the only ones getting stronger in here. And this whole time, they ignored us like they were nothing!" He growled and looked towards the audience. "Hell, I bet there's some of them here! Come on out, beta testers!" He pointed to the audience. "We should make them apologize to us, and we should make them all give up their money and the items they've got!" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "We can't expect the party members to trust them when they don't trust us! Why should we?!" Arctic, Solar, Skye, and Kirito narrowed their eyes at Kibaou's wild, yet not inaccurate claims. Kirito started to tremble, before another player spoke up.

"Can I say something?"

A large, dark-skinned player who had an axe at his back got up and walked down towards Kibaou, who suddenly felt intimidated at the size difference between the two of them. "Hey," the player greeted. "My name's Agil. Kibaou, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "I wanna make sure I'm on the same page. You say the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookies' deaths because they didn't help them. And you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't," Kibaou answered. Agil reached into his pocket and took out a small, brown book.

"The item store hands these out for free," he informed. "It's a guidebook. You got one, didn't you?"

"Sure, I got one. So what about it?"

"You know who handed these out? The ex-beta testers." The audience gave out small cries of disbelief at the revelation. "And I remember, clear as day…" He pointed to Arctic and Kirito. "Those two over there handed them out a week ago, and they gave me this copy." Everyone turned to Arctic's group and Kirito, all of whom waved.

Agil turned to the audience once more. "Listen up," he instructed. "Everyone had equal access to this information," he continued, tapping the book with the back of his hand for emphasis. "Even so, lots of players still died. I ain't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here to learn from those players' deaths. I'm here because I want to find out how we're gonna defeat the boss." He turned back to Kibaou, who merely growled in annoyance and walked back to take a seat.

As Agil did the same, Diabel decided to take the stage again. "Okay. Can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss…" he held up the guidebook. "It's all in here―the latest issue of the guidebook you just heard about." The crowd gasped in surprise. As Diabel opened the book, he started reading the info out loud. "According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. He can change his patterns of attack too." The crowd murmured. Diabel closed the guidebook and tossed it in his hand. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party who defeats the boss gets the EXP. And whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?" Diabel finished. There were a few murmurs, but no objections. "Alright. We leave tomorrow, at 10 in the morning. Meeting adjourned, people!" He emphasized with a swipe of his hand.

Everyone got up with their parties, and started to either leave or converse among themselves. Arctic, Solar, and Skye went to see Kirito, Asuna having walked out seconds ago.

 **(x)**

 **Read & Review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Illfang the Kobold Lord

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 4: Illfang the Kobold Lord**

 **A/N: Here it is, guys! Chapter 4, which is the first boss fight. Hope you enjoy this. Solar and I have written this to best of our abilities.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

 _Thoughts/Internal Dialogue_

 **Author's Notes**

 **(x)**

It was nighttime. All of the players participating in the boss raid the next day were either sleeping, preparing, or enjoying themselves. Arctic, Solar and Skye were doing the second of the three options, checking the durability of their weapons and armor. Once they were done, they headed outside to meet Kirito and his party member. However, when the trio saw the two players sitting together, they merely smiled and went elsewhere.

 **(x)**

While everyone was enjoying themselves, Asuna had isolated herself from everyone else, and was eating a piece of bread.

"Those are pretty good, right?" Asuna heard a voice behind her ask. She turned around and saw it was the person she buddied up with. She didn't know his name though. That would be a slight issue. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked. Asuna turned her head forward again, and gave no answer. Kirito decided to sit down next to her anyway. She scooted a bit away from him, but it didn't seem like he cared.

"Do you really think those taste good?" She asked when he pulled out his own piece of bread.

"Uh-huh. Since I came to this town, I end up eating at least one a day. Of course, I got a trick to make it taste better."

"What trick?" she questioned.

Kirito took out a jar from his inventory, then placed it down between the two of them. "Try it with some of that," he instructed Asuna. She tapped the jar, then looked on in amazement as a blue light appeared on her fingertip.

Asuna proceeded to swipe her finger on her bread slowly, and was shocked to see cream appear on her bread where she swiped it. "Cream?"

Kirito did the same for his piece of bread. However, as he took his piece of cream out, he didn't seem to notice his jar breaking. Or he just didn't care. He proceeded to take a bite of his bread. Asuna looked back to her own piece, and hesitantly took a bite out of it.

Kirito looked towards her as she quickly wolfed down the rest of her bread and sighed in relief. "I got it as a reward from the quest, 'The Heifer Strikes Back', the quest in the village before you get to this one. You wanna know how I did it?"

Asuna shook her head no. "I appreciate the offer," she said, "but I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"Okay. Why are you here?"

"So I don't lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am till the last moment." She folded her hands together. "Even if some monster beats me and I die, I won't lose to this game, or this world. No matter what."

Kirito put the last piece of his bread in his mouth, and ate it. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me. So try not to die tomorrow."

 **(x)**

"Let's go over it again."

The entire boss raid team trekked through the forest field, slowly, but surely reaching Illfang's boss room. Kirito was conversing with Asuna, and Arctic's group was listening, having been assigned to work with Kirito's team. "We're the back-ups, our targets are going to be the boss's minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."

"I know," Asuna said.

"I'll use my sword skills to knock their weapons up and out of the way. When I do, switch and jump in."

"What's a switch?" Asuna asked.

Arctic, Solar, Skye, and Kirito looked at Asuna incredulously. Kirito got a serious expression on his face. "Okay, level with me. Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?"

"Uh-huh," Asuna replied. Kirito stopped and stood with his mouth agape.

Arctic, Solar, and Skye walked ahead of the two as Kirito was teaching Asuna how being in a party worked. "I think Kirito has his work cut out for him," Solar said, feeling some pity for the swordsman for having to teach a player how to play.

"I hear that," Arctic agreed.

 **(x)**

Diabel planted his sword in the ground and addressed the group. "Listen up, everyone," he started. "I've only got one thing to say to you: Let's win!" he said with a clenched fist. Some players grunted in agreement, more specifically, Kibaou and Agil. "Let's do this!" Diabel exclaimed as he pushed open the door to Illfang's boss room.

As the room slowly lit up, a red boar with blue markings sat on a throne at the end of the hall with its eyes closed. When the group entered the room, the boar's eyes opened and glowed red. As Diabel marched forward, sword and shield in hand, the room lit up, clear as day. The boar jumped down from its throne, its eyes still glowing red as it roared. This boar was none other than Illfang the Kobold Lord. Around it, three small demons spawned around it-the Ruin Kobold Sentinels.

As Illfang and his sentinels charged the team, Diabel ordered, "Commence attack!" All the players rushed forward, and began to attack Illfang. "Squads A and C, switch in!" Diabel ordered, as the fight went on. "Squad B, block! Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch! Everyone else, when you fall back, regroup and flank them! Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions of us!"

"You got it!" Skye yelled at Diabel, rushing the sentinels along with Kirito, Arctic, Asuna, and Solar.

Kirito rushed at the first minion, and forward parried its strike. As soon as he did, he called to Asuna, "Switch!"

"I'm on it!" Asuna shouted at Kirito as she rushed towards the same minion Kirito blocked.

Kirito stared in amazement as he saw the way Asuna fought. _I thought she was a beginner,_ he thought _, but she's got good skills. I can't even see the tip of her sword_. "Right on," Kirito said quietly. As a minion attacked him, Arctic ran and killed the boss in retaliation. Illfang roared, and everyone could only watch as its heath drained to half of its last bar. It threw away its current weapons. Diabel chose this moment to rush in and take the boss on himself.

 _I thought the plan in the group was to surround it,_ Kirito thought. Diabel charged his blade and prepared to fight as the boss pulled out... _not_ a Talwar. In shock, Arctic thought, _That's no Talwar…_

 _It's a No-Dachi_ , Kirito unknowingly finished the thought. _This isn't like the beta!_ "Hey!" Arctic shouted. Kirito rushed towards Diabel as he looked back.

"It's no good! Get out of there!"

However, their warnings came too late. Illfang jumped off the walls with surprising agility and slashed Diabel, knocking the wounded player back as well. All of the players shouted in concern as Illfang jumped into the group and roared at the players.

"Diabel!" Kirito rushed to his side and prepared to give him a health potion. "What the hell were you thinking?" Kirito questioned him as he took out the potion. Before he could administer it, however, Diabel stopped him by holding his hand.

"You know," Diabel said to the confused and shocked Kirito, "You were a beta tester too, weren't you? And your three friends over there as well." Kirito was shocked. It seems that Diabel, too, was a beta tester.

"You were after the last attack bonus," Kirito began. "The rare item. You're just like us-a beta tester."

Diabel winced, then smiled at Kirito. "Please," he said as the boss attacked the other players, "you have to…defeat the boss…" Diabel began to glow and fade. "For everyone here…" he finished as he shattered into shards.

Diabel had died. Everyone could only look on in horror at the sight. Kirito sat there, silent and in shock. _When this death game started, the only thing I thought about was how_ I _was going to survive._ Nothing _else mattered._

" _Take care, Klein," Kirito had said to Klein._

 _But_ you _weren't like that, Diabel. You never abandoned the other players; you brought them together. You led everyone, and you fought brilliantly! You tried to accomplish something I couldn't._

 **(Play Swordland)**

Kirito rose and faced the boss. He gripped his blade tightly, and Asuna and his friends fell back.

"I'll go too," Asuna said.

"Okay," Kirito replied.

"You got this, Kirito," Arctic encouraged. Kirito nodded, and he and Asuna rushed the boss.

"We'll hit him just like we did with the minions," Kirito explained.

"Got it," Asuna said. Illfang spotted the approaching party and roared as it charged up a sword skill. Kirito screamed as he, too, charged a sword skill. He blocked the boss's blade as he switched with Asuna. She charged a sword skill and prepared to strike when Kirito called out a warning. Asuna narrowly dodged the boss's slash, but her cloak was destroyed, revealing a teenage girl with long, orangish-brown hair, and hazel colored eyes. She screamed as she stabbed the boss, knocking it back. As Kirito recovered from seeing her beauty, he blocked all of the boss's attacks, but failed as one hit him so hard, he was sent flying and crashing into Asuna, knocking them both down. As Asuna prepared to block the attack heading for her and the half-dead Kirito, a voice screamed and the boss was knocked back by a hammer.

Agil saved the two party members while everyone else rushed the boss. "We can hold this bastard until you get your health back up!" he shouted.

Kirito smiled at his help. "You got it," he said. Everyone rushed the boss, but was eventually knocked back. At this moment, Kirito got back up. "Watch out!" he called. Before Illfang could kill Agil, Kirito shouted, "You're going down!" as he intercepted the boss and knocked it to the floor. He rushed it, calling for Asuna to help, which she did in kind. The two rushed the boss at the same speed. One blocked while the other attacked. Kirito got the last few hits as the boss eventually dissipated into crystal shards.

 **(End Swordland)**

Everyone stood in silence for a moment, then cheered as a sign that said, "CONGRATULATIONS!" popped up. Everyone got their share of money and EXP, while Kirito got the last attack bonus. When he opened it, he saw that the rare item was a piece of clothing called the "Coat of Midnight". While Agil, Asuna, Arctic, Solar, and Skye congratulated him on defeating the boss.

"Today's victory is all thanks to you ," Agil said. When Kirito refused to acknowledge that fact, everyone shouted in approval, backing Agil. Everyone kept clapping and cheering for Kirito until…

"Stop cheering!" The crowd fell silent. "Why did you do it, huh?" Kibaou demanded. "Why'd you let Diabel die?!"

"Let him die?" a player muttered. Kibaou looked up, tears in his eyes.

"That's what I said!" he spat. "Admit it," he said to Kirito. "You knew what technique the boss was gonna use! You could've told us; then Diabel would have stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!"

As discord run rampant among the players, one shouted out, "I know why he knew!" as he pointed to Kirito. "He used to be a beta tester!" Arctic, Solar and Skye felt nervous; what if they were called out as well?

"Think about it!" the player continued. "He knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us! _And_ I bet he's not the only beta tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"

At this proclamation, everyone in the crowd, sans those around Kirito, started muttering to each other, confirming that they weren't beta testers. Soon, the whole group was on edge.

 _Shit,_ Arctic thought. _Guess we have no choice._ Asuna and Agil tried to calm the crowd, and Arctic prepared to speak _._ However, before he could open his mouth, he heard Kirito laughing.

"So you guys think I used to be a beta tester," he said once he stopped laughing. As he got up, he continued, "It' not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs."

"Wh-what'd you say?!"

 _Wow,_ Solar thought. _Could you be any ruder?_ Although he knew Kirito didn't mean it, he still felt a bit offended.

"Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta test were rookies," Kirito continued as he walked through the group. "They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were.

"But me―I'm nothing like those guys, man." He stopped walking. "During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the testers. That's a fact. I knew about about the boss 'cause I fought tons of monsters with _way_ more sword skills on higher floors.

"I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than _any_ info broker."

Kibaou and everyone else was stunned. Finally, Kibaou spoke. "Wh-what the hell? If that's true, you're _worse_ than a beta tester. You're a _goddamn cheater_ , that's what you are!" Everyone else in the crowd shouted in agreement.

One player shouted out, "He' a beta tester _and_ a cheater―he's a _beater_!"

Kirito stood there, smiling. "A beater," he finally spoke. "Yeah, that's good. I like it." The crowd fell silent at him readily accepting that fact. "Okay, you can call me a beater," he continued as he opened his menu. "Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." When he equipped the Coat of Midnight, a long black trench coat appeared on him. Kirito smirked and walked away. Before he could reach the door, however, he heard a voice call to him.

"Wait," the voice said. Kirito turned to face Asuna. "When we were fighting the boss," she started, "you called me by my name."

"I wasn't trying to be rude," the newly christened "beater" replied. "Did I mess up the pronunciation?"

"How'd you even know it?" she demanded.

"If you look right over here, you can see another HP gauge under yours. There's something written next to it." When he turned to walk away, she checked, and indeed there was another HP gauge below here.

"Kirito," she said slowly, reading the name of her party member. "Kirito? Your name's Kirito?" she asked again for affirmation.

"Yeah." Asuna suddenly broke out in laughter.

"I'm so dumb," she said, still laughing. "It was there the whole time and I never knew!"

Kirito stared at her and turned away before saying, "You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes where someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. 'Cause there are limits to what a solo player can do."

"But _you're_ solo," Asuna pointed out.

Kirito said nothing as he dissolved the party between him and Asuna. As the doors opened, he walked through into the smoke.

 **A/N: Well, this is as far as I will go following Kirito, and from here on in, I'll write my own adventures. However, I'll still write out the KiriSuna parts, and anything else that seems important to my adventures.**

 **Anyways, Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Forming a Guild

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 5: Forming a Guild**

 **A/N: Okay, everyone. This chapter is about what happened after Kirito became a beater. There will probably be no action in this chapter. Sorry, in advance.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO**

 **(x)**

 _Three months ago, we cleared the first boss, and Kirito was christened a beater. To this day, I kept asking myself,_ Why didn't I stop him? Why did he do that in the first place?

 _I decided not to dwell on the past. Solar, Skye, and I made an agreement to form a guild. We decided to call it the Tri-Blade Alliance, because there were three of us, and we each held one blade. The guild was actually supposed to be the three of us, but it started growing and growing. It became like… have you ever heard of the Holy Dragon Alliance (no relation to our Alliance)? Yeah. Like_ that _. It shocked me, and a thought occurred to me: Who the hell is going to lead this guild?_

 _At first, I thought we were going to get into an argument over who would lead the guild. But then Solar and Skye came to a unanimous decision:_ I _would lead the guild._

 **(x)**

Arctic closed the book he was writing in and stored it in his inventory. He let out a sigh as he got up and left the building the guild currently resided in.

Up ahead, he found Solar and Skye running drills with the guild-already at 100 members. They looked surprised to see him.

Over time, all three had changed their outfits. Solar was now sporting a fire red trench coat with a flame design at the end of his coat that went all the way around. The flames were a very appealing jet black, which contrasted against the redness of his coat. He received his coat from a mini-boss drop, and was named "The Coat of Flames". The black fire color came with the coat, which surprised everyone when Solar equipped it. The cuff of his right sleeve was folded back, and over the sleeves of his trench coat, the black wristband on his left wrist and the red wristband on his right wrist he wore on the day they met were visible, as they were over his coat. His coat was normally unbuttoned, revealing a blood red shirt, black pants, and red and black combat boots. Whenever Solar spun around to deliver a sword strike in battle, the flame design at the end of his coat flickered as if it was an actual flame, and had impressed everyone who saw it.

Skye's outfit had changed significantly as well, sporting a coat that, like Solar, she had obtained from a mini-boss raid. The aforementioned coat, however, was sleeveless and cinched at the waist (like Asuna's coat) leaving the ends of the coat to be splintered off into several tail-ends, all of which shimmered like the colors of a rainbow. Solar had dubbed this coat as The Peacock Coat, which was a nickname for the coat. The coat's actual name however, was "The Coat of Storms". Whenever Skye spun in battle or twirled outside of battle, the coat glimmered to life, and was far more visually appealing than Solar's coat's visual effect. Her coat, like Solar's, was unbuttoned, and showed that she typically wears a yellow sleeveless shirt, with a sky blue mini skirt. She also wore white leggings, and gray flats.

Finally, Arctic underwent the most change, compared to his outfit at the start of the game, which was a brown cloak over blue starting gear. He now wore a blue trench coat with a snowflake design on the sides, black gloves, a grey shirt and black pants, completed with a pair of dark grey combat boots. His coat was dubbed the "Coat of Blizzards," and was received via a rare drop.

"Hey, man," Solar greeted Arctic as he walked up to the two. "I thought today was your day off?"

"It is. I'm just choosing not to use it right now," Arctic replied with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Skye asked Arctic.

"Yeah. I'm sure. So what are the plans for the day? I assume you made plans for today."

Solar chuckled. "What do you take us for? Of course we have plans. First, I'm going to go to the nearest town to meet a friend, and hopefully see if she wants to join the guild. After that, whatever happens, we'll go to a field and train or relax, either or."

"Okay, sounds good. Are we going to wait for you?" Arctic asked.

"It shouldn't be too long." With that, Solar waved goodbye to his friends and his guild, and departed.

 **(x)**

"Where is she?" Solar asked himself. Then he realized that he had her on his friends list. After a brief facepalm, he opened his friends list and selected her name. He pressed track, and saw that she was…right where he was standing.

After staring at that for a while, he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. He jumped in the air while letting out a very manly scream. Once he landed, he heard a person start giggling uncontrollably. "I got you!" Solar heard a familiar voice chuckle. Once he laid his eyes on her, he was glad, albeit peeved, to see that familiar optimistic grin. The new player's icon showed, and the name read, _Akira_.

"Shit," Solar cursed as Akira helped him off of the ground. After brushing himself off, he looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face and said, "Do you always greet your friends like this?"

"Nope," she giggled, "just you."

"Gee, thanks," Solar remarked sarcastically. "I feel _really_ special." After that, he rolled his eyes, and accepted the hug that Akira was offering him. "It really is good to see you again, though."

"I can gladly say that it feels good to see you, too," Akira said as she hugged Solar. After both broke out of the hug, she questioned Solar, "So why did you want to meet?"

Solar gave Akira a quick once-over. From the last time that Solar had seen her, she had updated her wardrobe. Now, she was wearing a sky blue coat that ended at her hips, and was sleeveless. She wore a black miniskirt and black tights, as well as a white blouse and black boots. Her hair was auburn red, and reached down to her lower back. Her eyes were bright green, and very pretty. On her back was a short sword.

"I see you're back to the sword." Akira nodded in confirmation. "The reason why I'm here is because a couple weeks ago, I formed a guild with some of my other friends―yes, you're not my only friend, Akira―and it's already gotten strong. I was just wondering if… well… you wanted to join?" Solar nervously questioned Akira.

Akira stood there for a while, then finally gave her answer. "Of course I'd join your guild. I still owe you for helping me out that one time. Remember?"

Solar let out a breath that he had no idea that he was holding in, then smiled. "Good. I was scared that you would say no. Follow me," Solar turned around and looked over his shoulder, "I better introduce you to the other leaders of the guild."

"Wait!" Akira said so suddenly that Solar turned around with his hand at his blade. Once he realized that they were in no danger, his hand went back to his side, and he gave Akira an annoyed look. She grinned sheepishly, and said, "I have a friend who travels with me, and I don't want to leave her by herself. Is it okay if―?"

"Yeah, sure, she can join the guild. Hurry up and get her."

 **(x)**

"Where do you think he is?" Skye asked Arctic, who merely shrugged in response.

After Skye said that, however, she saw three figures in the distance. Immediately, she was able to identify Solar due to his unique coat, but she had no idea who those other two people were. She, along with Arctic, assumed that they were new recruits, as they had the Tri-Blade logo visible on their sleeves.

As a way to identify their recruits, Arctic had agreed with Solar and Skye that it would be mandatory to wear a piece of equipment that had the Tri-Blade logo visible on it. It could be an armband, in Skye's case, on their shoulder, in Arctic's case, or their gauntlets, in Solar's case, just to name a few. The Tri-Blade Alliance's logo itself was three swords crossed; two diagonally in an X formation, with the third blade coming in from the top; the blades were crossed on a shield. The blade that went diagonally downward from the right side represented Solar's blade, a katana; the blade crossing diagonally downward from the left represented Skye's blade, a silver Tanto machete sword; and the blade from the top represented Arctic, a one-handed broadsword.

Skye and Arctic rushed forward to meet Solar and the new recruits, and met them halfway. "What took you so long?" Arctic asked Solar, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Akira here," he gestured towards Akira, who waved at the two, "thought it would be funny to scare me. Then, she wanted to bring her friend along," he gestured to the other girl, who looked away, sheepishly.

When Arctic laid his eyes on the second girl that Solar gestured to, his first thought was... _Wow._ The new girl had obsidian black hair tied in a ponytail, kind amber eyes, and was wearing a hot pink shirt with a matching miniskirt, and black leggings. She also had grey flats, and an axe in her back.

"Hi, I-I'm Arctic," He stammered, holding his hand out to her for a handshake. Solar and Skye looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. Arctic has never been this nervous before, as long as the two had known him. "A-And you are?"

Apparently, the girl had felt as nervous, if not more than Arctic, because she was stammering far more than Arctic was. "T-T-Takano," she replied, blushing furiously as she shook Arctic's hand.

"Strange," Akira had whispered to Solar and Skye. "Takano is never this nervous." Solar raised an eyebrow. "I mean, she's one of the strongest people I know."

"You know," Skye whispered back, "Arctic is always calm and collected. This is the first time either one of us had seen him this way." Solar nodded in affirmation.

Apparently neither Arctic nor Takano had heard them, as they were too busy staring at each other. "Your eyes are pretty." Arctic said. _Curse you, Arctic!_ he thought. _You know damn well you're not looking at her eyes!_

Takano's blush furiously deepened with that remark. Before she could reply, however, Solar and Akira were quick to intervene. "Well, before the situation gets more awkward than it already is―"

"Like that could happen," Akira mumbled under her breath.

"―let's get to the fields," Solar finished, either not having heard Akira or just plain ignoring her. "I think the guild's getting antsy." As if to prove his claims, the guild members were seemingly becoming restless behind the quintet.

"Right," Arctic said, his steely composure finding its way back to the surface. He walked forward, with everyone else behind him. "Alright guys, let's go to the fields!" Arctic shouted towards the guild, to which everyone cheered.

 **(x)**

The fields. This was the favorite spot of the entirety of the guild, especially on Fridays. That was the day where everyone went to the fields, and did whatever they wanted, be it train with other members, relax, or EXP grind; however they had to stay within range of the guild, and had to be finished by midnight at the latest. This was where the guild could cut loose, with full approval of the leader(s).

Mainly, when they got here, the leaders mainly trained, and the recruits followed their example despite being given free reign to do what they wanted. The training they did was always fruitful, as they either developed new techniques, or simply got EXP from killing the mobs in the region. The mobs were normally high level, so it was relatively easy to level up.

Today, Arctic, Solar, and Skye were interviewing the new recruits. Because Arctic couldn't be trusted to not become a nervous wreck when talking to Takano, Solar agreed to interview Takano, while Arctic and Skye were left to interview Akira. The recruits were mostly training with each other, with the others just relaxing after a stressful week of EXP grinding and training.

"So," Solar started, with Takano listening intently, "Akira said that you were one of the strongest people she knows. Care to explain why she thinks that? Or am I to assume that she over exaggerated your worth?"

Takano shook her head. "I can promise you that she wasn't exaggerating. I'm actually really good with an axe. Many people have told me that when they saw me fight. I'm surprisingly fast, and it takes a lot of strength to wield this axe." She took her axe off of her back, and presented it to Solar. Grabbing it, Solar viewed the flavor text, and saw that the axe was named "Hellraiser". After viewing its name and its stats, he nodded in approval, then gave the axe back to Takano who took it gratefully. "I've also been told that I am really silent, and stealthy. You know, despite the fact that I'm carrying a heavy weapon on my back." At this, Solar couldn't help but chuckle.

"I can see that you have a sense of humor." At this, Takano nodded. "But," Solar's voice was now lowered to a whisper, and Takano had to lean in to be able to hear Solar, "I can also see that you have feelings towards a close friend of mine." Takano blushed. "But I think he feels the same. That was actually the first time I ever saw him that nervous, even during the boss raids. In my opinion, just make the first move."

"..." Takano was speechless. Then, she said, "Akira actually told me that she likes you." At this, Solar raised an eyebrow. "If you want to know why she didn't react the same way I did to Arctic, it's because she told me that around you, she can just be herself, because she knows you won't judge. Either that, or it's because you two have met before."

"I bet I can ask Akira out faster than you can ask Arctic."

"You're on."

 **(x)**

Meanwhile, while Solar was interviewing Takano, Arctic and Skye were interviewing Akira.

Arctic started, "You should know, Solar was adamant about you joining the guild. We'd like to know why."

Akira nodded, then said, "I worked with Solar at one point, during the first week of Sword Art Online. He can attest to what I'm about to say."

Skye said, "Well, we trust Solar, so if he vouches for you, then we believe him."

Akira drew a breath, then said, "I'm an agile player, but I'm still trying to see what weapon fits me. So far, maces do not work for me. I'm good with a sword, so I'm going to stick to that for now. I excel at performing combos, and I can deal very powerful blows."

"Powerful blows?" Arctic asked.

"Have you ever tried using an axe before?" Skye wondered.

Akira shrugged. "I normally leave that thing to Takano, because she's more of a natural than I am."

Arctic concluded this interview by saying, "Well, I guess we'll see if you're all the hype Solar implied."

Akira smiled kindly. "Thank you guys. For giving me a chance."

Skye returned the smile. "No problem."

After that, Akira immediately rounded on Arctic. "So, can you explain why you turned my friend into a nervous wreck?"

Arctic was confused. "Uh, what?"

"Never have I ever seen Takano that nervous before."

"Yeah." Suddenly Skye joined in. Arctic felt uneasy now. "I've never seen _you_ that nervous before, either."

Arctic started blushing. "I mean…I have no idea how I feel about her. When I saw her, I was…surprised to say the least. I've never felt love for anybody other than my friends here, or my siblings IRL, so I can't say for sure how love for another person, let alone a complete stranger, feels like."

Skye bit her lip, which, thankfully, went unnoticed. She wished that she could tell Arctic that _she_ knows how love for a stranger feels. But she thought that she would never have the chance.

Just then, fortunately for Arctic, Solar and Takano immediately walked up to the group. "Hey guys," Arctic said, drawing all attention away from himself. "Did you guys finish your interview?"

Solar and Takano simultaneously nodded, and Solar said, "Yeah, it went dandy. Akira, I need to talk to you. In private." Without a word, merely a glance at Arctic and the others, she got up and walked with Solar to a secluded area of the field.

"What's up?" Akira asked Solar uneasily.

"Don't bullshit me," Solar stated sternly, "Takano told me that you told her that you have feelings for me. Is that true?"

"I'm going to kill her," Akira mumbled under her breath. At this, Solar raised his eyebrow. After drawing in a breath, Akira looked Solar right in the eyes, and simply replied, "Yes, I do."

"..." Solar was silent for a few moments, which put Akira on edge. This time, Solar drew in a breath, and calmly asked Akira, "Do you want to go out tomorrow? I have a day off tomorrow, so we can go."

Akira smiled. "I'd like that."

 **A/N: Sorry guys, this is where things are going to end. Sorry there wasn't any action. Next chapter is going to make up for it, we swear. Also, a couple more OC's will be introduced in the next chapter, but one will be a baddie. Look forward to it.**


	6. Chapter 6: One Month Later

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 6: One Month Later**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO**

 **(x)**

 _It's been one month. I finally asked Takano out sometime after Solar brazenly asked Akira out. Skye seems glum though. She doesn't talk much to either me or Solar, so I'm planning on asking Takano or have Solar ask Akira to talk to her. Honestly, I think it's bothering him as much it is me. I'm just thankful that she hasn't cut us out entirely._

 _Skye found two new people to join the guild: Cupid, and her best friend Eros. Judging from their names, they' must like Greek Mythology._

 _With our guild on the front lines, we've been clearing the floors much faster. I'd reckon we're on Floor 34 or 35 by now. The only times we've seen Kirito is on the front lines, so we don't talk much. The friendship is still there, don't get me wrong. It's just, he's a loner now, and Asuna won't stop giving him a hard time. We talked at one point, Kirito with all three of us. He told us how he was in a guild, and all of its members were dead. God, it was sad. Skye was brought to tears, Solar was comforting Kirito, and I was just contemplating whether or not to ask him to join our guild. Wanting to (insensitively) keep our guild alive, I decided against it and comforted him as Solar did._

 _Right now, Solar's out on a training drill with Takano. Apparently, people on the front lines had given us nicknames that stuck, so they wear theirs with pride. I don't know mine though. Maybe I'm still being figured out? Who knows._

 _Shit, it's almost time to meet the new recruits._

 **(x)**

All Takano felt as she rushed through the forest was the wind on her face, and it felt _amazing_. No wonder Solar's so agile. _Is this how he feels all the time?_ Takano silently wondered, looking towards said fighter at her side. Solar felt her gaze on him, so he turned his head to look at her.

Solar smirked. "Careful. Keep looking at me and Akira will get jealous." Takano immediately faced forward. An angry Akira was _not_ a happy Akira. "I'm just joking. Now," Solar said, turning serious, but still having the joking tone, "can you keep up, Unholy Axe?" Solar used her nickname, so it's only fair she used his.

"Just watch me, Red Son." Takano smirked back. The reasoning behind their nicknames is because Takano was like a demon with her axe, and Solar's favorite color was red; combine that with the fact that his name was _Solar_ , it actually fit him. For some reason, Solar's nickname was spelled that way, but he thought it was better that way. They both reached an open field, where they skidded to a halt. In a flash, Solar sent Takano a duel request, and she accepted. This was done to avoid accidental deaths.

As the timer counted down from 10, the two immediately got ready, waiting for the timer to hit 0. Every second, due to their excitement, felt like an eternity.

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

 _0._

The moment the timer hit 0, the two dashed towards each other, not even exhausted from their long run in the forest. It was to increase their AGI stats, Solar had told her. The two clashed weapons, with Solar's katana cutting along Takano's axe. After both had broken free from their clash, Solar immediately charged at Takano with a sword skill. Her eyes widened. She knew that if she was caught with this hit, she wouldn't be able to escape Solar's impending combo. If it landed, Solar would win this. Her reflexes kicked in as she moved left to avoid his strike. She wasn't able to avoid the kick that came afterwards, because the guild itself was still trying wrap its head around the concept of martial arts.

It was newly introduced, and somehow, Arctic had picked it up the fastest. After teaching Solar, who caught on just as quickly as Arctic had, and Skye, who took longer to get used to it, the three began holding classes for those in the guild that were interested in martial arts.

Immediately getting back to her feet after Solar had recovered from the cooldown of charging his sword skill, Takano made the move this time as she rushed at Solar with her axe ready, and delivered an upward slash, which Solar narrowly dodged. Solar retaliated with a thrust of his blade at Takano's face, just hitting her cheek and making her lose a bit of health. She backflipped away, and rushed towards Solar again, who moved to the right to avoid the slash. That was his mistake, as she feinted slashing upwards, swiping her axe across Solar's stomach. Solar grunted in slight pain. After recovering, his posture changed, as he stood up straighter.

This time, he repeated the first action he was going for at the beginning; he was moving so fast this time that Takano couldn't dodge. He immediately caught her in a combo, which involved a lot of slashing, slicing, and one or two stabs. Finally, he cut through Takano, who was left standing in shock. Solar spun his sword in his hand, then sheathed it. When he sheathed it, Takano felt immense pain, then fell to her knees. It took all her willpower not to fall on her face. The duel ended, with Solar being crowned as the victor.

Solar walked towards Takano with two health potions in his hand. He gave one to Takano, who readily accepted it. As the two drank their potions in peace, Solar took a look at the time. Suddenly, he stood up, which surprised Takano to the point that she nearly dropped her potion. Nearly.

"What the hell, man?!" Takano asked, slightly peeved.

"We have to go," Solar said, nervous for some reason. "It's almost time to meet the new recruits! We're gonna be late." He offered his hand to Takano, who accepted it and stood up. The two opened their maps, then looked towards the direction where the guild apparently was. The two looked to each other, nodded, then immediately sped off in the desired direction.

 **(x)**

Everyone in the guild was doing their weekly tradition of heading to the fields to relax, train, or do whatever. Luckily for them, the weather was always nice, especially today.

While the new members of the guild were either sparring with each other or learning from the older members, the leader of the guild, who wasn't out training like another, was waiting. Arctic was waiting for Solar, apparently pissed off slightly. Akira was next to him, equally pissed off. Skye was out getting the new recruits for their interviews. All they were missing was their third leader.

Just then, Solar and Takano immediately burst out of the forest and stopped in front of their respective friends, out of breath from such a long run.

"You're late." Arctic sounded cross.

"What were you two doing?" Akira asked, suspicious.

"Nothing, we swear," Solar panted, hands on his knees.

"We were just *huff* training *huff*," Takano got out, her hand on her chest to help steady her breathing.

"If I find out you're lying, Solar…"

"I'm not, I swear!"

After Solar and Takano had caught their breath from their continuous long run, they stood with Arctic and Akira, and waited for Skye to show up with the new recruits. Sure enough, they saw her in the distance flanked by two people who had the Tri-Blade symbol on their chest plates. When they finally reached the group, everyone was able to get a better look at the two.

Both of the recruits had bows and arrows on their backs. Given their name choices, this wasn't surprising. However, the similarities between the two ended there.

One of the new recruits had a bright pink cloak over her armor, as well as a short sword sheathed at her hip. She had a red skirt with pink knee-high boots over white stockings. Her hair color was pink, her hair itself went down to her midback, and her eyes were a unique lilac color.

The other recruit, also female, had on a dark brown cloak over a blue shirt, white skirt with black knee-high boots over stockings of the same color. Her hair was long as well, reaching to her mid back, and was jet black, and her eyes were bright blue. She was just as beautiful as her friend. She also had a short sword at her side and a bow on her back with quiver full of arrows as well.

"Guys, this is Cupid," Skye gestured to the pink-haired girl, who nodded back, "and Eros," Skye gestured to the black-haired girl, who smiled kindly at the group.

"Great to meet you two. I'm Arctic," Arctic held his hand out to Eros, who graciously shook it, "and that's Solar." Solar shook hands with Cupid. "I assume you guys have met Skye, and these two ladies are Takano―," Takano sent a kind smile to the two, then clung to Arctic's side as she sent a warning glare to the two while still smiling, "―okay, that happened. And that's Akira." Akira did the same with Solar, who grimaced in response.

Suddenly, Eros and Cupid seemed a bit more nervous. Solar cut the tension by saying, "So what kind of interview do you guys want to go through?"

Cupid raised an eyebrow, and said, "What kinds of interviews do you guys give?" In response, Arctic and Solar looked at each other, smirked, then looked back to the two girls and got in their battle stances; Arctic raised his fist to his side, ready to draw his blade at a moment's notice, and Solar brought his right hand to his sword, ready to draw even faster. Eros and Cupid were confused, until a tag team duel request popped up in front of them, sent by Arctic and Solar. They looked up to see Solar close his menu. Taken aback by the brazen duel request, they accepted, and got ready; Cupid drew her sword, and Eros readied and arrow. The duel counter started and went down from 10, and eventually to 1. Once the duel started, all members of the guild wanted to see how the new recruits fought.

 **(The fight begins here.)**

Immediately, Eros fired an arrow, then readied another and fired that, leaving Arctic to block every shot. Meanwhile, Solar and Cupid charged each other, and were locked in a clash. Solar broke the clash, stunning Cupid momentarily, then charged a sword skill, and swiped it at Cupid's chest. Cupid backflipped away after she got hit, and growled slightly at seeing her health go down a bit. She looked towards Eros, who nodded back. The two switched weapons, and Eros drew her short sword as Cupid aimed her bow at Solar. When Cupid fired an arrow at Solar, he caught it, took a look at it, and remarked, "Hearts? Really playing out the Cupid theme, aren't you?" Cupid smirked and fired another arrow in response that Solar cut through with his sword.

Arctic was surprisingly having difficulty with Eros, as she was slightly faster than him. She obviously used that to her advantage, and Arctic was too busy blocking her attacks to properly counter. Eventually he locked in a clash with Eros. During this clash, he told her, "You're pretty good."

Eros smiled, and responded with, "You're not so bad yourself." The two remained locked until Arctic headbutted her, then kicked her away. Looking towards Solar, who looked back at him, the two nodded towards each other, then switched targets; Solar was targeting Eros now and Arctic was going for Cupid.

The two females had no time to counter, being taken off guard by the sudden switch. Solar rushed up to Eros, then started his ever-so-famous-and-yet-to-be- named combo (the same combo he pulled on Takano), which took Eros out of the match, leaving Arctic to deal with Cupid.

Cupid's firing speed was no match for Arctic's quick feet, and eventually, he cut through her, effectively putting her out of the match. The duel was over, and the sign above the competitors read, "The winners of this duel are… Arctic and Solar!" Everyone applauded for the two, including Eros and Cupid, both of whom had managed to get back to their feet. All this showed the winners was that these two knew how to take a loss, and how to be a good sport about it.

 **(The fight ends here.)**

As Arctic and Solar walked up to Eros and Cupid, the two looked down in shame and embarrassment as they awaited their verdicts. They weren't expecting the pats on their heads. Both girls looked up in slight confusion, to which Arctic responded, "Your teamwork needs improving. Keep training together. Other than that, you both have your own strengths and gave us a run for our money."

Solar continued Arctic's lecture, "Both of you are excellent swordswomen, and even better archers. We could really use you guys on our team of archers. Just remember to switch frequently so you don't forget your basic training with swords." Eros and Cupid, realizing what they meant, looked at each other giddily, then back at the leaders currently speaking to them. Apparently they were awaiting their next orders. Solar quickly said, "You guys can relax, this is the guild's day off." He opened his inventory, pulled out two health potions, then gave them to the new recruits. "Take these and go celebrate." The two took the healing potions graciously, and went to a random spot on the field where they started drinking their health potions.

Suddenly, the entire guild just froze. They looked towards one area of the field, where there was a lone, cloaked figure walking with an unusual black sword on his back. Everyone, especially Arctic, Solar, and Skye, could feel something dark emanating from the new player, even more so as he turned into their direction and started walking towards them. Instinctively, the guild drew their weapons and had them at the ready, only to be halted by Solar as he raised his hand in a signal. They still stood by, waiting for this player to make a move.

As the player was about halfway towards the guild, Arctic walked forward to address this new stranger. "Can I help you?"

The player responded with an Australian accent, "I certainly hope so. You wouldn't happen to know where the most skilled players are right now, would you?"

Arctic was cautious in his reply. "Depends on who you're talking about."

"Why, obviously I'm talking about Solar, Arctic, and Skye," the Aussie said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was obvious who he was looking for.

"Yeah, I can tell you where they are." If Arctic didn't have this guy's attention before, he certainly had it now. "You're looking at one of them. Take a guess which one. The other two are over there." He gestured toward the guild, who were still standing by, with the archers having their bows drawn and arrows ready.

"Okay, Arctic, I want you to walk with me. I'm not asking," the hooded player mysteriously said. He started to walk toward the forest. Arctic looked back at the guild and motioned for them to stay put.

However, Takano looked at Skye knowingly, who looked back and nodded at Takano. One thing that only Skye knew about Takano was how stealthy she could be if she wanted to; her stealthiness surpassed even Arctic's, though he didn't know about it. Sneakily, she went into the bushes and started tailing Arctic and this new player.

 **(x)**

"So why do you want to talk, Mr…" Arctic began.

The Aussie didn't even look at him as he replied, "It's Kutthroat. Remember that."

"...Right. Let me ask again. Why did you want to talk?"

"Honestly, I wanted to talk to Solar. He and I have some business to catch up on. And before you say anything else, I'm not telling. That's for him to say."

"At least you're honorable. All right then, let me ask you a different question. Where are we going?"

"We're in the fields aren't we? Take a good guess."

Suddenly it dawned on Arctic. "That evil aura around you…it all makes sense now. You're a player-killer." Immediately, Arctic stopped with his hand at his blade. Kutthroat kept walking a couple more meters before turning around and mirroring Arctic's pose. "Are you with Laughing Coffin?!"

Kutthroat scoffed. "Please. While I do work with them, I don't want to be confused with those amateurs." At this, Arctic's eyes widened. "My plan here is to kill you, then Skye, then Solar. After your guild's morale is destroyed, I'm going to collect my payment from Laughing Coffin. You wouldn't believe how much the LC members hate you three. Doing your best to help clear this game and free us all. Keep in mind that there are some people who don't want to be freed."

"And those people turned to player killing to stay in this death game. Predictable, yet totally avoidable."

"Can't say I disagree with you, mate." Whenever Kutthroat said 'mate' there was no sign of friendliness; only malice. "Now, shall we get started? I'm eager to collect the massive reward that Laughing Coffin is offering."

"How massive we talking?" Arctic asked out of sheer curiosity.

Kutthroat chuckled. "You wouldn't believe the number of zeros on that metaphorical check. Now I'll ask again; shall we get started?"

In response, Arctic and Kutthroat simultaneously drew their blades at an incredible pace, and pointed them at their opponents. As if by fate, both Arctic and Kutthroat yelled at the other, "Let's dance!"

 **(x)**

 **A/N: I'm sorry, were you expecting an epic fight to the death from which Arctic will clearly win? Then you have no idea what SolarEnergy07 and I have in store for this story.**

 **We will try to upload the next chapter before the end of the Thanksgiving holiday. Till then, please R &R, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my readers, both anonymous and loyal!**


	7. Chapter 7: Shadows

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 7: Shadows**

 **A/N: Hey, guys! Here's another chapter of this story, where there will be action and potential bonds formed.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**

' _Message'_

 _Thoughts_

 **(x)**

 _Wow. It's been awhile since this was filled in, huh. The last record of these logs dates back to a month ago, before…_

 _Anyways, let me bring you up to speed. With the Tri-Blade Alliance on the front lines with the other guilds, like the Knights of the Blood Oath and the Holy Dragon Alliance( which, I may add, only focuses on increasing their numbers, those idiots), we managed to clear several floors. If I'm not mistaken, the next floor is Floor 50._

 _Something happened in the guild a while back. It affected one of our… better members, and he took some time off-for real, this time. He hasn't come back yet. But he will. I'm sure of it. He has to. We can't do this without him._

 **(x)**

' _Have you had any luck?_ ' Solar sighed in exasperation as he responded to the message.

' _No, but I'll stick around a little longer, see if I can find anyone._ ' After he sent the message, he walked back into the square of Floor 22. He tried to get people to join him in the impending boss raid, but they always refused. Finally, when it looked like his efforts were pointless, he started to leave, when someone caught his eye. The player was checking out a sword from the local merchant-nothing out of the ordinary. It was his appearance that got Solar's attention.

The mysterious player appeared to be the same height as Solar, and he was dressed all in black―black armor over a black shirt and pants, a black duster that went down to his heels, black gauntlets over the long sleeves of the coat that were followed by a pair of black gloves, black combat boots, and finally, a black hood connected with the duster, as well as a black lower face mask. The figure seemed to notice Solar, as he looked up from the broadsword he was holding and returned his stare. He had the most unsettling pair of red eyes Solar had ever seen-the kind of eyes you would forever see in your nightmares.

 _Laying it a bit thick on the black, dont'cha think?_ Despite all of the impulses that screamed, _Don't hire this guy!_ , Solar walked towards the figure, who gave the broadsword back to the merchant. Now that they were at a closer distance, Solar didn't see how armed he was. Blacky had a holster of throwing knives hidden under his duster, a black handle of what appeared to be a sword on his back, in a position that indicated that he was a lefty. He also noticed the teardrop-shaped necklace Blacky wore.

 _Yep. Same height._

To clear the tension in the air, Solar cleared his throat and smiled. "Hi," he started, "Are you interested in participating in the upcoming boss raid?" When the figure said nothing, Solar awkwardly stuck out his hand and began to introduce himself. "Anyway, my name's Sol―"

"I know who you are."

"O-Oh," Solar said, retracting his hand. He took note of how the stranger spoke; his voice was monotonous, yet held a dark tone that obviously said, _Don't fuck with me._

"And yes, I'll join."

"Gr-great!" Solar said, immediately perking up. Catching himself, he asked, "What's your name?"

"...Shadow," Blacky, now formally known as Shadow, replied. "And as payment for my services," he continued, "I want whatever comes from the boss, last attack bonuses included."

"Okay," Solar said, writing down a message. When he finished, he gave it a once-over. The message read, ' _Found a guy. Goes by Shadow, and he's a mercenary. His payment is whatever the boss drops, including the last attack bonus._ ' After he sent the message, he looked back towards Shadow, and told him, "The raid's tomorrow. It's best if you attend the meeting tonight." He stuck out his hand again.

"Yeah," Shadow said, shaking Solar's hand. "I'll be there."

 **(x)**

"You made it," one guard said, honestly surprised that the guy Solar hired actually showed up.

"Of course," Shadow said. "I told Solar I'd be here."

"In that case," the second guard replied, "go in." He gestured to the tent behind him. Shadow walked past the guards into the war room.

Once he was inside, he wasn't surprised to see the place packed to the brim; he was even less surprised to see all eyes turn to him. He returned the stare, causing those who were staring to look elsewhere.

"That's him?"

"The hired help?"

"Looks shady. Don't trust him."

If Shadow heard the murmurs, he didn't show it. "You made it," he heard Solar call. He turned to see the smiling player. "Have a seat. We're about to start."

Shadow simply walked to the back of the room and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. It was so dark that the only indication he was there was the pair of red eyes cutting through the darkness.

"Okay, everyone," Solar said, him and Skye taking center stage. "Tomorrow we're facing the Floor 50 boss, Count Nightshade. It's imperative that we all stick together; if he isolates you, you're done."

"Our scouts have seen what he does," Skye took over. "He has an insane level of agility that outclasses any of ours, which plays to his advantage. Compared to the previous bosses we faced, he has relatively low HP; but if this anything like the Floor 25 boss, it's bound to be extremely difficult. Which is why we're going to give you a chance to leave right now. We understand if you do leave, and we won't hold anything against you."

When no one left, Solar smiled. "Just what I expected from the guild's strongest. Now, Count Nightshade will, at half his last HP bar, strike you and drain you of your remaining HP, killing you near instantly and replenishing his own HP.

"As a way to counter this, we decided that you'll need to be in a group of 6 or 7; but if you fight solo, then you need to at least have a partner. Now choose your partners, and get some sleep. Meeting adjourned."

As soon as Solar finished, everyone started forming parties with each other. Shadow, opting to stay out of it, was approached by Kirito. "Surprised to see you here," Shadow said, not sounding surprised at all.

"The leaders and I go way back," Kirito replied. "You heard what Solar said; you should at least be in a party.

"With whom?"

"Hmm…How about me?"

"I'm not opening my menu."

Kirito sighed. "Fine." He sent a party request to Shadow, who accepted. "Us lone wolves gotta stick together, right?"

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of being a lone wolf?"

"You know what I mean; sometimes it's better to hunt in packs."

After a brief period of silence, Shadow spoke again. "Get some sleep. You'll need it." His tone held no room for argument.

 **(x)**

Everyone participating in the raid were busy sleeping to help make them more alert. However, one person is staying up, despite everyone's insistence; and that person is the "hired help," Shadow.

Shadow was sitting on a tree branch, not bothering to get any sleep, as he knows what will await him if he does. He was sharpening his knives when he heard a voice. "What are you doing up there?" He looked down to see one of the people who held the meeting; Skye, Shadow believed her name was.

"Minding my own business," Shadow replied. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Skye replied, jumping to his branch and sitting down, much to Shadow's chagrin.

"Why did Solar hire me?" Shadow demanded.

"Honestly…" Skye bit her lip, trying to find the right words to say. "It must be because if you die, no one would really care, since mercs normally don't have people who care about them."

"I see," Shadow said in an emotionless tone. "I overheard your conversation with Solar."

Skye looked towards the mercenary, surprised. "What did you hear?"

"Not much," Shadow said. "But I heard you lost someone important."

"Don't worry about it," Skye replied, waving it off. After the two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, she face palmed. "I remember why I came up here," she said to herself. She reached into her pocket to pull out an object wrapped in paper. She offered it to Shadow, who looked confused. "It's a sandwich," she explained. "I made it for you."

Shadow took the sandwich and unwrapped it. He took a bite. "..." He quickly wolfed down the rest, causing Skye to laugh.

"Is it that good?" she asked, still laughing.

"It's the best thing I've ever eaten," Shadow muttered, barely heard by Skye. When her grin widened, he added, "I said it's the best thing _I've_ ever eaten. Don't read too much into it."

"Nope," Skye said, still smiling. "Everyone likes my cooking."

"Figured as much," Shadow said in his usual monotonous voice. "Did you really come up here just to give me food?"

"Pretty much," Skye replied.

"Get some sleep," Shadow said after a moment's silence. "And don't worry about me," he continued before Skye could interject. "I'll be fine."

Skye nodded and jumped down from the branch and walked inside, leaving Shadow to his own devices.

 **(x)**

Kirito stretched as he walked outside. He was dumbfounded to see his party member sitting up on the tree. "Did you really spend the whole night up there?"

"..." was his only answer.

Kirito sighed. "At least get down from there," he called. "We're leaving soon."

"I heard you," a voice said behind him. Kirito jumped back and turned around, hand on his blade. Seeing Shadow was the one who scared him, Kirito let go of his blade and gave the other a glare.

"Don't do that again," Kirito said darkly.

Shadow ignored him and asked, "Aren't we leaving?"

"Yeah," Kirito said, now calm. "But not now. We gotta eat first."

"Alright, then. Let's eat."

 **(x)**

After breakfast, which was eaten separately in the case Kirito, or not at all in Shadow's case, the raid party made its way to the boss room. The dungeon had been cleared beforehand, so it wasn't that hard to reach the boss room.

"Wait up!" A new voice called from behind the raid party. Everyone turned back to see a guild that was supposed to be a part of the raid party.

"Ren," Solar called out.

The leader of the new guild, Ren, called back, "Hey, Solar, sorry we're late. Some of us," Ren and the other members of the guild shot a glare to an axe-wielder in the group who merely shrugged in response, "got a little carried away with EXP grinding."

"Don't worry," Skye interjected, "you're just in time for the raid."

"Again, sorry about that. Anyways, I took the liberty of formulating a strategy against Count Nightshade. It'll go like this…" The rest was hushed as Ren talked to Solar and Skye, who listened intently and grew more and more excited with each passing second.

"Ren, that's genius!" Solar exclaimed.

"No wonder you're one of the top tacticians in SAO," Skye said approvingly.

Ren smiled proudly. He quickly got the introductions out of the way between Solar and Ren's guild members; Helios, the loyal jackass and axe-user of the team; Alice, Ren's girlfriend and a scythe user; Mai, Alice's little sister and the rapier-user; and Riku, the guy who everyone seemed to forget about.

With the addition of the new guild, Wyvern's Inferno, the party continued on to the boss room. Once they reached outside the room, Solar stopped and looked back at the party.

"Everyone, I'm going to relay the strategy that Ren gave me; in order to make it harder for Nightshade to pick us off, we'll stick together as a whole, with the tanks forming an outer circle. If our plan is to have no casualties, then we have to follow this to the letter. While Nightshade is attacking, we will pull an Illfang; the tanks parry, then switch into the sword users; then the sword users will parry, and the axe users will deliver devastating blows. Keep in mind that he has less health than most floor bosses. Don't forget, people; sword skills whenever you can."

"How did Ren's guild get the information?" One of the party members asked out loud.

Solar looked questioningly at Ren, who quickly replied, "I have a very sneaky friend." Solar nodded in understanding as he glanced briefly at Shadow.

"Alright guys, let's win this!" Solar yelled as he raised his katana in the air. Everyone in the party, minus Skye, Akira, Ren's guild, Kirito, and (unsurprisingly) Shadow, raised their weapons in the air and cheered as well. Without any further words, Solar turned around and pushed the door open.

 **(x)**

As they were fighting a vampire, it was unsurprising that the room was pitch black. When the party got to the middle of the room, however, the room was lit up by candlelight, enough to see in the room.

From the ceiling, a shadowy figure dropped, and stood upright as it landed on the floor. As it rose, the three health bars that indicated its HP filled up.

The monster, revealed to be a humanoid with alabaster white skin and blood red eyes, fangs and nails, roared at them.

"NOW!" Solar and Ren yelled simultaneously. Following their leaders' command, the rest of the guild charged the monster as whole.

After getting a lot of damage on the boss, everyone felt confident that they could beat Count Nightshade. That changed, however, when the whole room went pitch black.

Everyone was silent. Until…

"Get down!"

Everyone followed Shadow's command out of instinct, and they only realized how fortunate it was for them when the boss swooped down on them, trying to pick them off one by one. Foolishly, one of the stronger members of the Tri-Blade Alliance stood back up to attack the boss, but was picked off.

When the room brightened, the remaining players could only look in horror as the boss held the struggling player in his hand. They were even more shocked when Count Nightshade drained his HP, killing the poor player and adding to his HP, bringing the bar they just depleted back to half its maximum amount.

"When the room goes dark," Shadow said to the stunned crowd, "get down. Otherwise, that'll happen," he finished, inferring to what just happened. Without waiting for the others, he and Kirito rushed the boss.

"I'll boost you," Kirito said while they ran. Shadow nodded and prepared to jump. Kirito ran ahead and stopped, crouching in front of Shadow, the latter using the former as a footstool.

Shadow let out a low growl as he charged up a sword skill. The boss tried to grab him as well, but Shadow simply dodged and stick his blade in the monster's hand. When he landed, he grabbed his blade and, with it still in the flesh of Count Nightshade, he dragged it up towards the head of the monster. He backflipped off the boss and drove his blade through the left eye of the monster, piercing through it and landing in a crouch with his hand still on his sword, which was planted in the ground.

Nightshade screeched in pain as its HP depleted all the way, including its last bar. At ground level, Solar, Skye, Ren and the others were watching in awe.

"Holy…" Ren started.

"Shit…" Skye continued

"Exclamation Mark!" One of the other members finished.

Shadow dropped down in the crowd as the boss was destroyed, and sheathed his blade as the monster died. A sign appeared a second after Nightshade had disappeared, reading, "Congratulations!" After seeing this, everyone cheered, and those around Shadow clapped him on the back. Shadow ignored most of it, as he was too busy looking at the last attack bonus he received. The drop read, "Black Star of Nightmares."

Shadow looked at the flavor text, and saw that it was a special teleport crystal. _I'll check it later_ , he thought to himself.

"Not bad," Shadow heard Solar call. He turned to look at him. Solar motioned for him to go to the door. Shadow realized what he was doing, then walked to the door. He put his hand on the door and shoved it open, and as he did so, a window appeared in front of all of the party members, reading "Floor 51: Allsdale, open!" At this, further cheers erupted from the party as they all rushed through. Shadow stayed behind, and approached Solar as he walked to the door.

"Why did you hire me?" Shadow demanded as the elated players ran past the two.

"Why do you think I hired you?" Solar questioned back.

"Skye told me that you hired me because no one would miss me if I died. Is that true?"

Solar stood silent for a moment. Finally, he responded, "Far from it. I hired you because I needed people who I _know_ can hold themselves well in a fight. You were that person. We couldn't have finished this fight without you. Keep that in mind, Shadow."

Now it was Shadow's turn to stay silent as he pondered what Solar said. Everyone else had ran through by this point; leaving the two players alone. Finally, Shadow said in his usual monotonous tone, "I assume you'll come looking for me when it's time for the next boss raid?"

Solar replied immediately, "Yeah, I will."

Shadow nodded, then turned around and walked beside Solar as the two reached Floor 51: Allsdale.

 **A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and followers! Also, special thanks to TheSib for allowing us to use his OCs, the members of Wyvern's Inferno and their leader, Ren. If you haven't done so already, go check out his stories, especially I Will Not Bow, the remake I Will Not Bow Again, and the sequel Blazing Revolution (these are the Wyvern's Inferno stories). Also, I meant to upload this yesterday, but I was busy with other things.**

 **Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Mission

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 8: The Mission**

 **A/N: I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving. Without further ado, here is the next chapter of The Tri-Blade Alliance, where secrets will be leaked, but not revealed.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 _It's been three weeks since we last saw Shadow. He's most likely been busy with other things-and I can respect that. To each his own, and all that stuff. But since then, there's been a lot of speculation; just who the hell is he? Personally, we don't care, as long as he can help us get the job done. And so far, we've seen that he can._

 _Where he's gone, that just another mysterious piece of that enigmatic puzzle._

 _Eros became an entertainer, like a singer and dancer. From the shows that she wanted us to go to, which means all of them, she was absolutely amazing. Some of the best singing and dancing that I'd ever seen or heard. As such, she's mostly a part time member of the guild._

 _Over the weeks, we were approached by a new person who, unlike that Kutthroat guy, seemed like he cared for people. He wanted to join, and he demonstrated some of the best archery skills I've ever seen. Hell, he can even fight close-quarters with a bow! His name is Pearce. How fitting._

 _Now, he leads the archers in the guild, but is_ adamant _about following all of my orders. Loyal till the end I suppose._

 _I'm going to have to cut it off here. I need to get some rest. I have the feeling that tomorrow's going to be a big day, with a meeting of the heads and discussing the floor boss, and whatnot._

 **(x)**

 **Floor 32: Midgar**

"Look," the representative said to the increasingly impatient Eros. "All we're charging is 50,000 col. It's not much."

"It is if you're charging me _per guard_!" Eros said through gritted teeth. "And they're not even good!"

"Hey!" the rep said, clearly offended. "I'll have you know that all of our men-"

"Are high-level and equipped with the best gear so far," Eros finished in a bored tone, as if she's heard this before. "Like I haven't heard _that_ a hundred and ten times." Before she could continue, she received a message in her inbox. She opened it while the clearly irritated man spoke.

"All right. How about this? For the same price, we'll give you three of our best men. Sound good?"

"Never mind," Eros said, suddenly jovial. "All I need to protect me is my shadow." She got up and walked away, leaving the representative furious beyond belief, yet also confused.

"Women," he said under his breath as he walked away.

 **(x)**

Before he received the message, Shadow was spending the early parts of his day in the inn he was staying in at the moment, examining and researching his new item, the Black Star of Nightmares.

 _Apparently, it's a teleport crystal,_ Shadow thought. "But how does it work?" he asked aloud. He was snapped out of his inquiries when he heard his inbox receive a message.

Wasting little time, he opened the message and read the name of the sender first: " _Eros._ " He opened the message.

" _Hey, Shadow. I need your help. I have an important performance to get to in a week. It's on Floor 52. If you can get me there within that time limit, I'll give you a bonus along with the payment listed below._

" _Payment: 100,000 col._

 _Bonus: Equipment (Gloves)."_

Answering the message, Shadow wrote, " _Sure._ "

He sent the message and looked down at his unique crystal, which was glowing black. The crystal was in the shape of a rhombus and was black, yet transparent, and the core was shaped like a black hole, with its light exploding into the corners of the crystal.

 _Maybe I can field test this._

 **(x)**

"Ladies and gentlemen," Solar called out as the leaders of the major front line guilds sat in their seats around the table, "let's get this meeting started. First order of business, any suggestions as to how we can take down the Floor 55 boss? Do we even have a name yet?"

One of the leaders of the front line guilds stood up from his seat, as if giving a presentation. "My name is Robin, and I lead the guild The Sunlight Fighters."

Solar chuckled. "You guys already have my approval." This drew some chuckles and smirks from the other leaders.

Robin smiled at Solar, who motioned with his hand for the man to continue. Taking the cue, Robin said, "Just yesterday, we sent a scout party to the boss room. They found out that this boss is named 'The Dragon Fighter'. And they saw from his style that he will fight with a type of lance called a Naginata until his health reaches its halfway point; from then on, he will fight solely with martial arts."

Asuna, who was substituting for the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, added in, "Did you get any word from him yet, Solar?"

Solar ran a hand through his hair, with it going back to the hairstyle it was always in, and sighed. "Still no word from Shadow."

"That's not who I meant, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know."

One of the other leaders spoke up. "We got to Floor 50 in a manner of months, didn't we?"

This time, Ren spoke instead of Solar. "Yeah, we did, but we had Arctic with us. We don't have that privilege anymore. We're on our own."

 **(x)**

 **Day One**

 **Floor 34: Serpentine**

"Are you ready yet?" Shadow asked the performer, growing more impatient by the minute.

"Just a couple more seconds," a voice grunted from the other side of the door. Finally, the door opened and Eros stepped out, wearing her normal outfit. "Happy now?" she asked, annoyed.

"Very," Shadow replied, equally annoyed. He dropped the attitude, however, as he looked at the shrinking sunset. "We should leave now," he said. "Otherwise, the mobs will swarm us."

"Aw, what's wrong?" Eros asked teasingly. "Scared of a couple mobs?"

"No. I only said I'd escort you; we never agreed on me protecting you."

"...Let's go now," Eros said, walking ahead.

Shadow quickly caught up, and asked the pretty performer, "Why exactly do you need an escort?"

"The teleport system is down from Floors 34 to 52."

"How coincidental," Shadow said sarcastically. "The teleport system is down from where we are to where we're going."

"Yep," Eros said, oblivious to the sarcasm.

"Let me check something," Shadow told her. He took out his Star and cursed under his breath when he saw the lack of light the core produced. He put it away and walked ahead, slightly dragging Eros by the arm.

After a while, Eros pulled her arm away and looked around. "Where are we now?"

"The door to Floor 37. If we keep this up, we should get to Floor 50 by morning."

"Hey!" Eros spun around to face her temporary protector. "You know that no one, except you, has that level of energy!"

"Not my fault. Although, we could stop for a break at Floor 40, if that's what you're into," Shadow said, looking up in thought.

Eros's glare softened as she smiled. "See? Now, that's better."

 **Floor 40: Atlantis**

Eros sighed contentedly when she lay down on the grass. She looked towards Shadow, who was still standing and leaning against a tree, and told him, "You can lie down too, you know?"

"No thanks," Shadow said, opting to climb the tree. When she heard the dull thud of a body hitting a branch, she merely sighed and closed her eyes.

 **Day Two**

"Get up," a voice said. Eros opened her eyes tiredly…

To see a pair of nightmarish red eyes staring down at her. She screamed, the sudden feeling of fright jolting her awake.

"It's just me," Shadow said. "And come on. It's the perfect time to travel."

"What?" Eros looked towards the horizon, still somewhat tired. "It's barely sunrise!"

"So? This will help you build up your stamina. God knows you need it."

"You're a dick."

 **(x)**

"God this is tedious," Asuna groaned. The leaders, with the exception of Asuna and Solar, were knocking their heads together to figure out a strategy to fight the boss. So far, every hypothetical solution had no chance of working.

Solar looked towards Ren and saw that his face was scrunched up in thought. "You got something, Ren?"

Ren looked towards Solar and replied, "Maybe. I might need some help to verify the strategy though."

Immediately, Solar opened up his friends list, selected a name, and typed a message. In a matter of minutes, there was a knock on the door to the war room. Solar motioned for the guard to open it. The guard did so, and in walked Skye.

"Hey Solar. You called for me?"

Solar nodded. "You're the top tactician of the guild, correct?"

Skye nodded. "Yes, I was given that role by Arctic."

"I'm gonna need you to help Ren verify his strategy for the next boss."

Skye nodded once and walked towards Ren. "So what do you have?"

Ren replied, "I was thinking…" Soon the two were talking to each other quietly as they went over Ren's strategy.

After a couple hours of talking and discussing, Skye looked towards everyone else and said, "Ren's plan will work."

 **(x)**

 **Day 3**

 **Floor 44: Grimwall**

"Do you ever sleep?" Eros asked her guardian, flabbergasted at him when he told her he'd keep watch again.

"Yes," Shadow said. "But not when guarding someone important."

Eros felt her blushing from his 'compliment'. "Well, then, I'll stay up with you."

"No. you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"Yes.

"No."

"Yes."

"NO."

"YES."

"...You're stubborn."

"It's one of my best features."

 **The Next Day**

"We're never doing that again," Shadow told Eros, who nodded her response as she was too busy yawning.

"That mantis was hell," she said tiredly.

"For you, maybe. Now, let's go. We'll stop at the next inn."

 **(x)**

"Alright guys," Akira called to the present Tri-Bladers. "Let's get this practice run started!"

As Akira instructed the members on what to do for their practice, Solar was watching from a pillar, leaning on it and arms crossed. _God, she's beautiful_ , he thought to himself as she took down all of the recruits in no time at all.

Akira felt someone's stare on her, and instinctively looked behind herself. She relaxed when she saw that it was Solar watching her. She motioned for the fighters to keep practicing, as she ran over to Solar.

"Hey you," Akira said playfully, giving Solar a punch in the arm that she knew he wouldn't feel. Solar smirked, and brought her in for a kiss she didn't refuse. As they pulled away, Akira smiled and rested her forehead on Solar's. "Well, that's my kind of hello." They both began walking along the field, arm-in-arm, as they observed the fighters who were currently practicing.

Solar asked, "Are you guys practicing the strategy that Ren set up?"

Akira nodded. "I want to make sure they have it down. I don't want any casualties, not if they can be easily avoided."

"I can agree with that." Scanning the field, Solar's eyes landed on the recruit he was looking for, and pointed him out to Akira. "Check him out."

Akira, curious as to why Solar had singled out that one member, looked towards him. She was amazed by what she was seeing.

That member was holding his own against several of the swordfighters, and he wasn't even using a sword! Rather, he was holding them back, very impressively with a bow. After he knocked them all away by spinning 360 degrees with his bow outstretched, he seamlessly pulled out three arrows, lined them up one on top the other, and fired all three simultaneously, hitting the neck, torso, and nether regions of a faraway training dummy. After admiring his work, the Advent Archer pumped his fist in the air, and put his bow away.

"Pearce!" Solar called. The archer looked in their direction, and looked excited when he saw that Solar was the one calling him over. Solar waved him over. Pearce ran over to the couple, and when he reached them, he got on one knee, as a sign of respect. "Boss. Lady Akira." He looked up at Solar, who motioned for him to stand up. He did so. "What do you need me for?"

Solar looked over to Akira and smiled. "He'll be the one to take down the next boss. See to that, my dear." Happy to be called "my dear" by the person she loved in public, she nodded and motioned for Pearce to follow her. When they reached an empty spot on the field behind the guild house, Akira got into a stance, with Pearce following shortly after.

"C'mon, Pearce. Let's see what all the hype is about."

 **(x)**

 **Day 5**

 **Floor 49: Clockwork Hill**

"Look what we have here," a sly voice said.

Eros and Shadow stood side-by-side as a ring of enemies formed around them. "Six guys," Shadow said under his breath.

"I can count," Eros replied in the same manner. "They're level 45."

"They're all around us, you know."

"I think we can take them. You think we can take them?"

"You always think we can take them."

"But we can, can't we?"

"Damn straight."

"What are you―?" One of the guys began to speak, but was cut off when Shadow drove a knife into his neck. He followed suit by sending two serrated throwing knives into the chests of the other two enemies.

Eros took care of her three―all girls―by slicing one in half across the waist with her sword, parrying another and dispatching her in the same way. The last one ran away. She was about to throw a knife when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Shadow shaking his head.

"Not worth it," he said. Eros nodded and looked at the three Shadow took care of. The first one he defeated lay on the floor motionless, while the other two rolled on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Can we go now?" she asked her guardian, who nodded.

 **Later…**

"I'll take watch tonight," Eros told Shadow. Before he could protest, she said, "You've done enough for me. It's time I do something for you."

"Fine." Shadow lay down on the ground while Eros climbed the tree. After staring into the distance for a while, he laid his head down and let the hands of sleep take him away.

 **(x)**

 _The player screamed in anguish as he held a dying girl in his hands. He stopped when he heard someone laughing maliciously. He turned to look at the laughing figure with a look of deepest loathing. "You killed her, you bastard!"_

" _Me?" The figure stopped laughing, but still retained a sinister smile. "I didn't do anything. This was all_ you _."_

 _The kneeling player looked down and felt his eyes water when he came to a sudden realization._

He was right _._

 **(x)**

 **Day 6**

Shadow opened his eyes and sat up. Eros jumped back, alarmed. His eyes focused on her and narrowed. "Did you try looking under my hood?" he growled.

"N-no," Eros said, clearly frightened. "But you kept mumbling and shifting around. You wanna talk about it?"

Shadow was silent for a moment. "No," he finally said, standing up. He held his hand out to Eros, who gratefully took it. "Did I scare you?" he asked as he gently pulled her up.

"Yeah," she said shyly, slightly blushing. "It's okay, though."

"Good. Let's keep going. We're almost there."

 **(x)**

When Skye walked to the back of the guild house, she saw two fighters that looked as though they had just finished one hell of a match. Akira was on one knee and was panting heavily. Pearce wasn't any better. He was on his knees, and using his bow to keep himself up.

Alarmed, Skye rushed to the aid of her friends, helping Akira up first, then Pearce. "Jesus, what the hell happened?!" Skye asked concerned as she gave both fighters healing potions.

"Let's just say," Akira said after she took a drink from her potion, "that I have confidence in Pearce regarding the next boss fight."

Pearce smiled, then took a swig from his own potion. Instantly, he felt his energy return, and was able to stand on his own two feet and put his bow away. After doing so, he crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed slightly; a sign of respect. "Thank you, Lady Akira. That match against you was… something else, that's for sure."

Akira kindly smiled back, and walked past Pearce. She stopped just before the back entrance to the guild house. She looked over her shoulder, and called back to Pearce, "I'll let Solar know that you're ready. Knowing him, we'll leave tomorrow. You better rest up. The guild and the front lines are counting on you."

 **(x)**

 **Day 6**

 **11:50 PM**

 **Floor 51: Boss Dungeon**

"So," Eros started awkwardly. She and Shadow were resting outside on the tree. Shadow looked towards her, focusing on her instead of the whetstone in his hand. "What exactly do you do when you're busy...not being yourself?"

"Perform maintenance on my weapons," was Shadow's curt response.

"Oh." More awkward silence ensued.

Having enough of Eros's staring, Shadow put away his sword and let the whetstone fall as he glared at Eros. "What?"

"What?"

"You've been staring at me for the last five minutes. You obviously have some questions. What are they?"

"U-um...well…" Eros shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Shadow's gaze. Eventually mustering up the courage, she looked at him and asked, "What's it like, living in your shoes?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, it's a stupid question. I didn't mean to offend―"

"You didn't," Shadow finally said, cutting off Eros. "I was trying to find the right words. You want to know what it's like, being me?" When Eros nodded, Shadow said, "It's hell."

"Why would you say that?"

"My whole character, everything that I stand for―it was all created by grief."

"Over what?"

"I was responsible for the death of someone _very_ dear to me; in fact, I drove the blade through her."

Eros gasped, horrified. "How do you live with that?"

"Simple, really; I don't sleep normally. Because if I do, I would be constantly haunted by flashbacks of all that I've done.

"And yet, I blamed the murder guilds for her death, as the most prominent―Laughing Coffin―sent the assassin. I decided to take them down. And if the only way to kill a monster is to become one, then―"he took out his sword, a one-handed longsword with a jet black blade and a Rakshasa's Claw motif, and a silver skull pommel―"so be it," he finished.

"Jesus."

"Don't need Him."

"And how old _are_ you?"

Shadow was silent for a second. Finally, he answered. "Sixteen."

"Wha―?!"

"I'm like this because a player the same age as me was a far worse monster. He killed hundreds more than I did."

"But―how would you deal with the murders?"

"To me, as long as I don't kill the green and yellow players, I'm okay. But if it's an orange player, more often than not, I put them in jail."

"So the red-icon players…"

"Are a definite kill."

Eros nervously looked around her. "It's sunrise."

"Then let's go," Shadow said, picking Eros up and jumping down from the tree. He put her down, and the two started walking towards the boss room.

 **(x)**

"Alright everyone," Solar said, drawing the attention of everyone in the boss dungeon. "This is it. We only know what lies ahead, and we only have a theory on how to fight it. Regardless, I have faith in everyone here, and of you're here too, then that means that you _know_ that we can and _will_ win this!" He finished that last part by raising his fist in the air (like the first part of a fist pump) and everyone cheered. "Let's go!" He opened the door and everyone followed him in.

The Dragon Fighter was sitting in a meditative pose in a circle in the center of the room; when he heard the door open, he stood up, his back still towards the fighters. He turned around, and everyone got a full look at him for once. He was tan, as opposed to Count Nightshade's alabaster skin, his Naginata was on his back, and he was wearing traditional martial artist attire. Strangely, unlike the other bosses, The Fighter was about the same height as the other players, about 6 feet tall. When he turned around to face the players, his health bars formed, and he motioned for the players to attack him.

As instructed by Ren, the archers, including Pearce, remained behind, and began firing arrows at the Fighter as he was ambushed the tanks and faster players. He ducked a swing from Akira's axe, weaved around Solar's thrust, but was not able to avoid a combined X-Slash from Skye and Ren. He staggered back, and that was taken advantage of; the tanks rushed him, but they were outsped by the swordfighters and mace users. Everyone managed to get at least one hit on The Fighter, and his health eventually reached its halfway point.

When it did, he pushed his arms out on their respective sides, right hand to the right, left hand to the left, and he pushed everyone back with a sort of force field. After he knocked everyone back, which surprisingly did not damage anyone, he jumped to the circle in the middle and repeated the motion; another force field formed, flashed, then turned invisible. He turned to the crowd, and held up one finger. Instinctively, Solar tensed, but then he saw that The Fighter was doing nothing. Solar realized what he wanted. He turned to the archers. "Pearce!" Solar called.

The loyal archer jumped over the others, and landed in front of Solar. "You're up," Solar told him. Pearce nodded, then walked to The Fighter.

As soon as Pearce stepped in the circle, the force field reformed, and The Fighter did something bizarre; he cut himself with a knife he drew from his leg, and his health reached the pinnacle of its last bar. After it did so, he dropped the knife, and he got into a battle stance. Pearce, too focused to realize that The Fighter made this a fair fight, got into a battle stance.

The Dragon Fighter and The Advent Archer circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Finally, The Fighter rushed towards Pearce and attempted to deliver a Superman Punch, which Pearce parried, and responded with a kick to The Fighter's side, who shook off the impact. Everyone else watching saw The Fighter's HP go down a bit, and kept watching, praying for the Archer to win; then again, if Solar hand picked this guy, it must have been for a good reason.

Wasting no time, Pearce rushed forward and delivered his own Superman Punch. _This is too easy,_ he thought. "What's your game?" Pearce asked out loud. "Why aren't you fighting?"

The Fighter only smirked, and switched his stance. This time, it was an offensive stance, and he gave Pearce no time to block by delivering a swift kick to his stomach. Rolling back with the impact, Pearce braced himself for the next attack. This proved to be the right call, as The Fighter had jumped up and plummeted down with his fist outstretched, and Pearce narrowly avoided the hit by rolling to the side. While The Fighter was getting his fist out of the now cracked floor, Pearce delivered a running drop kick, which knocked his opponent away. Pearce and The Fighter kipped up, and glanced at their individual health bars; Pearce's HP was down to yellow, and The Fighter's was nearly at red. After Pearce glanced at his opponent again, he saw that he disappeared, and felt a sharp pain in his spine. His health went all the way down to the red; 1 HP, to be more specific. He fell to his hands and knees. He looked up in time to see The Fighter walk into Pearce's field of vision, and and raised a fist, ready to plunge it through Pearce's body. Pearce glanced towards the other fighters. Apparently the force field was as soundproof as it was invisible, as most of the players were calling out to Pearce, except Solar, Skye, and Akira. The Archer glanced at Akira, who nodded in confirmation. Pearce nodded back, and, mustering all of his remaining strength, he grabbed The Fighter's fist and pushed it back, surprising the boss. He got up, and rushed his opponent. He landed an unrelenting flurry of attacks.

While Pearce couldn't hear his comrades, they could hear him. They watched in shock and awe as he yelled, "OVERWHELMING", he landed several hits, slowly decreasing The Fighter's HP, "OBLIVION," he continued, his opponent's HP now at Red, the same point where Pearce's was, "ONSLAUGHT!" He ended with a powered-up punch that went through The Fighter. The Fighter was in shock as his body fell back and shattered. The force field cleared, and someone from the crowd threw Pearce a potion, which he drank thirstily. After he finished, he wiped his mouth, and just waited as everyone congratulated him and clapped him on the back. He looked to Solar, who smiled and nodded. Lighting up, Pearce went to the door, and pushed it open.

"CONGRATULATIONS. FLOOR 56: JOTUNHEIM: UNLOCKED."

Everyone cheered as they read the message, and ran through. Pearce was approached by Solar, who clapped him on the back, and said, "I knew you could do it." Pearce looked happy, and walked side-by-side with Solar, Akira who had linked her arm with Solar's arm, and Skye into the next floor.

 **(x)**

 **Day 7**

 **Floor 52: Heroes' Hill**

"We made it," Eros said, sighing in relief. She and Shadow both took a moment to rest. During this time, she looked towards Shadow and smiled. "You can go, now. I'll take it from here."

"And my payment?"

Eros facepalmed. She nearly forgot about Shadow's payment. Without wasting another second, she opened her inventory and caused a big bag of col to appear beside her. She pushed it over to Shadow, who took it without a word. "And since you managed to get me here on time," Eros said, "here's your bonus."

Before she could say or do anything else, however, Shadow said, to no one in particular, "Come out." When he didn't get a response, he said, "I know you're there. There's no point in hiding." Still no response. Eros was beginning to wonder if he somehow lost it when the two heard a chuckle.

"My, my," the voice said, clearly female. "You finally noticed us. Or perhaps, you knew we were following you and didn't say anything." The voice held a sensual tone, Eros noted. The speaker finally stepped out from the tree in front of them.

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag," the newcomer spoke. Eros finally mustered the strength to speak.

"Who are you?" she questioned in a strong tone.

"Her name's Rosalia," Shadow answered instead of the new player, now revealed to be Rosalia. "She leads an orange guild."

"Someone's been doing his research," Rosalia said, smiling. "If you know who I am, Shadow, then you know why I'm here."

"To kill us and steal all of our stuff."

"Right again!" Rosalia applauded.

Eros suddenly came to a realization. "Shadow, those players from the other day―"

"Are part of her guild," Shadow affirmed.

Rosalia continued to smile. "And they would just _love_ to see you again! Isn't that right, boys?"

After she said that, dozens of players stepped out from the trees beside her. In no time, Shadow and Eros were surrounded by orange icon players. Shadow cautiously took out his crystal; he felt immense relief when the core of the star was glowing again.

"Long time no see, buddy!" one player laughed. The others joined in, but Shadow paid them no attention, instead focusing on talking to Eros.

"Wait here," he told her quietly. She knew that she could trust Shadow, so she stayed put.

"All right, boys," Rosalia announced. "Kill them and steal all their stuff!"

"Got it!" all of the players said in unison. Just as they readied their weapons, however, they were surprised to see Shadow stand up. In his hand was some sort of a weird teleport crystal. Just the mere sight of it shook everyone's morale as it seemed to suck out all of the light in the area.

Shadow "cracked" a smile under his mask, and everyone could hear the muscles cracking. "You know," he began. "You caught me in a good mood. And I mean a _really_ good mood. So, I'll let you all off with a warning. And I'll let you decide what it is."

All Eros heard after that, from Shadow, was: "Systematic Eclipse."

Suddenly, he teleported, scaring all of the enemies, who looked around them, trying to find him.

"Boo," was all one player heard before he was cut down. Everyone watched in horror as he shattered into fragments, with no trace of his killer. Afterwards, everyone else fell in the same way, Shadow teleporting behind one player and slashing, stabbing, or slicing through them. The result was always the same: no one survived.

Eros and Rosalia watched in horror as Shadow reappeared where he was originally. He dashed towards Rosalia, pinning her to a tree with his sword pressed against her neck. "Don't fuck with me," he said in a low voice. He stepped back and slammed the hilt into her face, knocking her out. He turned towards Eros. "I'll take that bonus now." When she gave him the gloves, he put them away, choosing to review their quality later. "Where to now?"

She nervously said, "I'll get there from here."

Shadow shrugged. "You're on your own, then." He started to walk away…

"You can come to the Hall of Sirens for the show tonight."

Shadow looked back to her. He said, "I'll think about it," and walked away.

 **(x)**

A sigh escaped her lips as she got ready for her performance. Eros looked into the full-length mirror. She had changed into her performer's outfit: an elegant, form-fitting white dress with a split down the legs, pink highlights going down the long sleeves of the gown, black stockings on both legs, going down into white flats, and a shade of blue makeup, sans her lips, which were black.

She smiled and stepped out of the dressing room. She walked through the curtains to the sound of up roaring applause. She made her way to the center of the stage and took a deep breath. Her eyes scanned the audience and her heart leaped when she saw a pair of _very_ familiar red eyes from the very back. She fought the urge to smile as she began. Now that he was here, she knew exactly what to sing. The music began.

" _You are the ocean's gray waves_

 _Destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach._

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb._

" _In the white light, a hand reaches through_

 _A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two_

 _Waking dreams fade away_

 _Embrace the brand new day._

" _Sing with me a song of birthrights and love_

 _The light scatters to the sky above._

 _Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone_

 _Lost in thoughts all alone."_

There was a brief pause for the musical transition, and the audience took that time to applause. She was moving throughout her performance, as she always does, spinning and weaving with her moves.

" _You are the ocean's gray waves_

 _Destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach._

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb._

" _Embrace the dark you call a home_

 _Gaze upon an empty white throne_

 _A legacy of lies_

 _A familiar disguise._

 _Sing with me a song of conquest and fate_

 _The black pillar cracks beneath the weight._

 _Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone_

 _Lost in thoughts all alone._

" _The path you walk on belongs to destiny_

 _Just let it flow_

 _All of your joy and your pain fall like the tide_

 _Just let it flow._

" _Life is not just filled with happiness_

 _Nor sorrow_

 _Even the thorn in your heart_

 _In time it may become_

 _A rose._

" _A burdened heart_

 _Sinks into the ground_

 _A veil falls without a sound_

 _Not day nor night, wrong nor right_

 _For truth and peace you fight._

" _Sing with me a song of silence and blood_

 _The rain falls but can't wash away the mud_

 _Within my ancient heart dwells madness and pride_

 _Can no one hear my cry?_

" _You are the ocean's gray waves_

 _Destined to seek life beyond the shore_

 _Just out of reach_

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb._

" _You are the ocean's gray waves."_

The applause exploded in an uproar as she bowed. She stood up straight and left the stage to a standing ovation.

 **(X)**

"You actually came," Eros said when she walked outside. She shivered and rubbed her arms, trying to generate heat, when she felt something being put on her. She looked to see that Shadow had put a cloak over her. She adjusted it, smiling in gratitude.

"Of course," Shadow said, an unusual tone in his voice. His mask was off too, Eros noted. He looked towards her and smiled; it was an actual smile. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Eros returned the smile and came to a realization. "You were there."

"At all of your performances," Shadow finished. She looked down and saw the gloves she had given him on his hands: black fingerless gloves which were named "Harbinger."

"You're wearing the gloves."

"They're one of the best items you could get; they increase your chance of finding ultra rare drops, and they triple your profits. Thanks for them."

Eros looked away, blushing. She looked back and saw Shadow had disappeared.

Without a trace.

 **(x)**

 **Song: "Lost In Thoughts All Alone" by Rena Strober (English Cover)**

 **So the next chapter will be released by , at the earliest, Christmas, or at the latest, New Year's. Just to let you know.**

 **And as always, Read and Review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Merry Christmas

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 9: Merry Christmas**

 **A/N: I'm back, everybody, with a new update! I decided that, since it's a total** _ **pain**_ **to switch between the anime and the story for details, I'm just going to paraphrase all of the quotes said from this point. This takes place at the time that Kirito looks for Nicholas the Renegade to bring back Sachi. Enjoy!**

 **-Arctic01**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 **December 24, 2023**

 **Floor 49: Mulgien**

Kirito sighed as he sat on the bench, waiting for the info broker who agreed to meet up with him. While doing so, he thought of... _God, it hurts to think about them_ ― _about_ her― _even now._

" _Ducker!" Kirito only had time to scream as the aforementioned player was assaulted by an endless number of enemies. It wasn't long before he shattered._

 _They walked into a trap room. Their crystals wouldn't work. Sachi…_

 _She was the last to die in the room._

 _Kirito walked out of the room, solemn and beyond grief._

"Hey," a voice said. Kirito shook himself out of his thoughts and spoke to the person behind him without looking.

"Hey, Argo," Kirito said.

"Word's been going around that a Christmas Flag Mob called Nicholas the Renegade appears around this time."

"So?"

" _So_ if you manage to defeat him...well, there've been rumors that he'll drop an item that can revive fallen players."

Kirito looked up. "Where is he?" he demanded.

Argo shook her head. "He only spawns at a certain fig tree."

Kirito stood up. "Thanks," he said, making his leave.

"Wait! Aren't you going to pay me?"

"Why would I? You told me the same thing everybody knows." Kirito turned back to leave.

"You know that mercenary everyone's been talking about?"

Kirito sighed in exasperation and turned to look at Argo again. "What about him?"

"I told him the same thing I told you."

"And?"

"Don't be surprised if you find him there."

 **(x)**

 **June 22, 2023**

" _Keita," Kirito began._

" _What's up, Kirito?" The two players were standing outside, in the light of the setting sun._

" _Everyone…" Kirito bit his lip._

" _What about them?"_

" _Ducker...Samasaru...Tetsuo...and Sachi…They're all dead."_

" _Wh-what?" Keita stepped back, shocked. "T-t-tell me you're joking!"_

" _I wish I were," Kirito replied, looking down with his eyes hidden under his hair._

" _How…?"_

 _Trap room on Floor 27. It was also an Anti-Crystal Area. I was the only one who got out."_

" _But you're the same level as us! How did_ you _survive?!"_

" _Well...That's the thing. I'm not really level 20."_

" _...Then what level are you?"_

" _40."_

 _Keita stepped back in horror. "You...you_ ― _"_

" _Lied to you. Yeah."_

" _You're a beater. You had no right to be with us!"_

 _Keita looked down, eyes covered by shadows. After some time, he stepped onto the edge of the floor._

" _Wait!" Kirito called out. But it was too late. Keita fell over and shattered when he hit the clouds. Everyone had gathered over to watch the player jump, gasping and whispering._

 _Throughout all that, Kirito was leaning over the edge with his head outstretched, too shocked to move._

 **Floor 35: Forest of Wandering**

"Dude!" Kirito heard a voice call out to him. Kirito turned to look at Klein and his guild.

"Hey, Klein," Kirito said in his usual murmury tone. "Why are you here?"

"To find the boss that spawns around here. You doing the same?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you should at least get a partner."

"I'll manage."

"If you say so." Klein looked up in thought. "How do you think Arctic's doing right now?"

Kirito's response was a shrug. "Who would know?"

Before Klein could pursue the topic any further, the group looked around to see dozens upon dozens of players teleport around them. "Damn it! It's the Holy Dragon Alliance!"

"What's so bad about them?" Kirito inquired.

"Nothing's wrong with them, honestly," Klein said while everyone drew their weapons. "But they'll do anything to be the ones to earn a rare item; they'll even go as far as to become orange for that item."

"I'll help you," Kirito said, hand near his blade.

"No, don't. We'll hold them off; you get the item."

"Klein…" Kirito ran towards the portal.

 **(x)**

For the most part, Klein and the Fuurinkazan actually held their own, even going as far as to reduce the number of members to fifteen.

It wasn't long, however, before their durability ran low. Klein took down two guys with a slice of his katana, but was blindsided by a HDA member.  
Right before he could strike Klein down, the member was cut in half-and shattered-by a jet black blade. Klein looked up, slightly scared for his life. "Are you Shadow?"

Shadow nodded and teleported to kill the remaining members. When there was no trace of them left, Shadow turned to Klein. "Where is he?" Klein pointed to the direction where Kirito teleported. "Thanks," Shadow said, tossing Klein six healing items.

 **(x)**

Kirito stopped in front of a glowing fir tree. He looked around, but there was no trace of the boss. However, he heard a sound and looked up. There was a sleigh pulled by reindeers streaking across the sky. When the sleigh reached the tree, a figure dropped down.

It landed with a heavy thud. Kirito covered his eyes from the snow that fell upwards upon this creature's landing. He removed his arm and got a good look at the boss.

Nicholas the Renegade was-there's no other way to say it-a twisted Santa Claus. He had pale blue skin and yellow-white hair, red strabismic eyes, and a spiky mustache and beard.

Another sound was heard from Kirito's left side. He turned to see Shadow crouched with a hand on the ground, as if he'd just landed, and his left hand holding his blade. He stood up straight and nodded at Kirito. The latter returned the nod.

 _A truce to fight the boss_.

Nicholas the Renegade began to speak, but wasn't given the chance as both players rushed the Flag Mob with their blades; they charged their sword skills and let out fierce battle cries―with Shadow's being a mixture of grief and rage, and Kirito's being a mixture of grief and hope. Together, the two black-clad swordsmen attacked the boss.

 **(x)**

Kirito lay on the ground panting heavily after the intense battle he just fought. He did it. He beat the boss. But he couldn't get the item he needed. He watched in sadness as Shadow held the item in his hand and opened the flavor text. Kirito was surprised to see the mercenary begin to shake as he looked down. Kirito opened his mouth to speak, but did not get the chance to. Shadow tossed the item behind him to Kirito, who caught it in his hands after sitting up. "Take it. I don't need it."

Kirito half-expected him to turn around and comically yell, "IIIII NEEEEEDDDD IIIIIITTTT!" but that didn't happen. "You were so adamant about getting it earlier―" he began.

"I said I don't need it," Shadow harshly cut him off. He stood where he was for a few seconds and looked down. After a while, he looked back up and turned around to face the beater, who had stood up fully. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth, Kirito. Otherwise, it'll end up biting you in the end." Kirito was taken aback with how...broken the mercenary sounded. With that, Shadow walked through the portal, and Kirito was alone.

Kirito looked at the item. It was labeled Divine Stone of Returning Soul. It was an orb that was in an oval-shaped container (which looked slightly like an egg), and was light blue. He opened the flavor text, and read to himself, 'The item can be activated on the player's shortcut menu or by holding the materialized item and uttering «Revive ... [Player's Name]». The effect will only work during the time frame between the death of the player and the disappearance of item's effect light, which is approximately ten seconds.'

Kirito was motionless. He couldn't even use the damn thing?! Then why the hell did he even bother?! Kirito looked down, and let the item slip from his hand. Then, he raised his hands to his sides as he threw his head back and let out a loud scream of all the frustrations he couldn't put into words.

 **(x)**

After Kirito gave the item to Klein, he went back to his room at the inn. He was depressed. He was disappointed. He was currently EVERYTHING negative in the world of Sword Art Online, and the real world too. As he prepared to leave the inn to suicide run the boss, he received a notice in his inbox. He had received a gift? He was beyond curious now. Kirito opened the inbox and took out the item. He was shocked to see it start playing a message.

 **(A/N: Because the message gave me too much of the feels, I'm not going to add the message that Sachi leaves for Kirito. Just watch it on Netflix or Kiss Anime. Seriously. Just do it. Not that hard.)**

 **(x)**

Shadow's inbox rang, causing him to wake up and sit up on the bed he was sleeping in. He silently left the inn through the door (And no, he doesn't sleep in his normal clothes; he sleeps with his coat off, like a civilized piece of mercenary scum.) instead of the window as usual. He opened his inbox to play the message.

 _I knew I shouldn't have put my contact info to the public_.

He was surprised to have a crystal fall into his hands. With no other option present, he played the message. The crystal hovered silently in front of him.

" _Wow. I, uh...I am_ not _good at this stuff. Well-_ (deep breath)- _here goes. Hey, Shadow. It's me, Kirito._

" _I just wanted to say...Thanks. For your help, I mean. I guess we both had our agendas for that revival item, right? Too bad it wasn't what we hoped for. But, that brought me to a realization. It also made sense with what Eros said earlier: you lost someone dear to you. Like me._

" _That's why you wanted that item. You wanted it as much, if not more than, I did. And now comes the purpose of this message._ (Another deep breath) _There are people, like the ones we lost, who were undoubtedly scared of dying in SAO. And who wouldn't be? No resets in this world. And so, I wanted to ask you._

" _If you ever come across somebody-anybody-in need of help in any way, then please: Help them. I know helping others isn't your cup of tea, but we all gotta try new things every now and then. It's up to us if the tea leaves a bitter taste in our mouths."_

Shadow looked at the now dormant crystal, letting it fall and shatter. He looked up at the inn, then at the town, and shook his head.

"I'll think about it."

 **(x)**

Waiting.

That's all the pseudo-leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance would do on Christmas Eve. Just wait for an old friend. A friend he knew was never going to show up. Solar looked at the clock in the room. The time read 11:45 PM. Then, he looked to his right. His girlfriend, the love of his life, was sitting beside him on the couch, dressed in her sleepwear, arms wrapped around his, and waiting as well. Though, he knew that she couldn't wait for much longer. He could tell that her eyes were begging to close, so she could sleep, but she chose to stay awake, for his sake. She looked back up at him, and both exchanged a tired smile. Akira snuggled up closer to Solar and put her head on his shoulder. He responded by placing her head on his.

Both shifted their eyes to Skye, who was also in the room with them, waiting, HOPING, for Arctic to come back. She was wide awake, like the only man in the room. After five more minutes of waiting, she sighed and stood up. "He's not coming," she said with tears in her eyes. This was unlike Skye, as she never gave up; a trait that all Tri-Bladers shared.

Solar sighed and stood up, with Akira still attached to his arm, and ran a hand through his hair with his free hand. "I guess not." After about a second's silence, Solar opened his menu and brought out a box, small enough to hold with one hand. After receiving curious looks from his friends, he told them, "It was the last thing he gave me before he left. He told me open it about 6 months after he left. I gave him a month and a day extra. I guess it's time to open it now."

Skye looked at the clock. 12:00 AM. Then she looked back at her best friend, and nodded in confirmation. Akira let go of her boyfriend's arm to watch what was going to happen next. Solar opened the box and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. When he opened the one with the label, Skye got a notification from her guild. She opened it up, and read a message on the guild's page. It was just one sentence. "The new leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance is Solar. ―Arctic." Needless to say, the other two were shocked to hear this. Akira looked towards Solar, and was scared when she saw an expressionless look on his face, as he read a notice that told him that he was promoted to leader.

Slowly, Solar opened the other piece of paper, and was honestly relieved when he did not receive a notice that read 'PSYCH!' He read this letter out loud.

" _Solar,_

 _If you're reading this, then it really has been 6 months since that day. Maybe more. Who knows. Anyway, there's really only one reason why I'm writing you this letter. I want to apologize._

" _I'm sorry. For everything. For leaving the guild. For leaving you and Skye. For leaving you to unofficially carry my burden. For leaving without a second thought. I might return, but things change, you know._

" _I decided to make you the leader because you're honestly the most capable and the most respected, both in the Tri-Blade community and out. Don't get me wrong, Skye's suitable for the job, but she's way better at keeping the more rowdy members in check. If she's not there to keep those guys in check, there won't even_ be _a guild for you to lead. I know, I know, I'm exaggerating, but still._

" _This letter isn't going to be that long. I just wanted to end this letter on a preferably good note. All I can say, without giving away too much of my real life, is that, besides my sisters, you two are the closest thing to a family I have. Especially in this damn game. I know that, wherever I go, you two will be with me. In spirit, obviously. Just know that I will be with you. Jesus Christ, this is turning into a cliche._

 _Solar, you're like the brother I never had. I regret that we couldn't have spent more time together. Then again, one can never spend too much time with their family, can they?_

 _Skye, you're like my younger sister; so happy and full of life. Please, don't change on my account._

 _Akira (I know you're there), you're like my crazy cousin. Or would you prefer sister-in-law? Either way, your pick, and that's who you are to me. And dead is not an option._

" _I'm just rambling at this point. I really don't want to leave, but I'm gonna have to. Don't hold it against me. You have no idea what I'm going through._

 _Take care, guys. I love you._

 _Your brother-in-arms,_

 _Arctic."_

Everyone was silent. Skye and Solar had tears running down their faces, and Akira's were threatening to flow. So, it was true. He wasn't coming back anytime soon. Their leader―and brother―had left them.

Solar drew in a shaky breath and let it loose. He looked at the clock. 12:39 AM. He looked towards his friends. "It's time to go to sleep, guys. We'll talk more about this in the morning." Skye nodded and left the room. She stopped halfway, right next to Solar. She turned to him. He looked at Akira, who nodded. He opened his arms, and let his best friend hug him and let her tears out on his comforting shoulder.

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update guys! I meant to upload this sometime yesterday, but it was incomplete, I just went through a nose surgery, so I was too busy recovering. Solar actually had to complete this chapter for me, so give him props. Right now, he's working on the next chapter, which we PROMISE will be up on New Year's Day. Oh, and one last thing: Merry (late) Christmas!**


	10. Chapter 10: Happy New Year

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 10: Happy New Year**

 **S/N: Happy New Year, everyone! It looks like we've reached a milestone of 10 chapters! Of course, we plan on keeping this story going for a while, so strap yourselves in. New Year, new moments! Plus, this chapter is PRIMARILY filler.**

 **-SolarEnergy07**

 **PS: A/N: Arctic's Note**

 **S/N: Solar's Note**

 **(x)**

 _It's New Year's Eve, and everyone is both pumped and depressed; on one hand, it's the New Year; on the other hand, it's another year that we'll be trapped in SAO. That doesn't bother me. I may be overly optimistic, but I genuinely believe that we can do this, that we can- and will- get out of this damned game before another year passes. Maybe things will be different now that I'm_ officially _leading the Tri-Blade Alliance. Who knows?_

 _Kirito told us about his and Shadow's little Christmas expedition. Bit depressing, honestly. But to_ try _to lighten the depressed mood as of late, the front line guilds, primarily The Tri-Blade Alliance, will be hosting a New Year's Party, and everyone is invited. Of course, they don't have to come; it's just a courtesy._

 _Can't wait to see how well/badly this party turns out to be._

 **(x)**

"There you are!" Shadow looked down from his favorite branch in annoyance, but immediately lost that look when he saw who was calling to him. "I've been looking all over for you! Come down here! I want to talk."

Shadow jumped down and landed on one knee, then stood up to face one of the Tri-Blade's elites. "What do you want, Skye?"

Skye smiled secretively, then handed Shadow something from behind her back. Never one to turn down gifts from people who _didn't_ annoy him (the Tri-Bladers, Asuna, and Kirito falling into that category), he took the envelope, and opened it. He read aloud, as they were the only two there, "'Congratulations! You have been cordially invited to come to the New Year's Party, courtesy of Skye.'" Her name was on the underlined section."'The party will be from 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM, in light of the New Year. The party will be at The Tri-Blade Alliance's new guild house on Floor 52. The food will be homemade by: Akira (TBA), Asuna (KOB) and'" his eyes lit up barely noticeably when he read the last name, '"Skye (TBA).'" He was silent for a moment. "Fine, I'll be there." This time, Skye's eyes lit up, much more noticeably than Shadow's had.

Skye turned to leave, paused for a moment, the turned back and gave Shadow a basket she brought out from her inventory. "For you." Shadow, knowing _exactly_ what was in it, took it without a word; nodded his gratitude, then jumped back up to his favorite, round-the-clock shaded branch.

Skye, having accomplished her mission, walked away, smiling as if she had accomplished something huge. Which she did.

 **(x)**

"Kirito!" The Black Swordsman turned around when he heard his name called. He relaxed when he saw Solar waving a hand and walking up to him. "How ya doing?"

"Nothing new." Kirito gave Solar a brofist, and crossed his arms. He didn't mean anything by it; it was just cold and he was trying to keep himself warm. "What's up?"

"You know how the front line guilds are hosting a party today right?" Kirito nodded. "I wanted to give this to you." Solar handed Kirito an envelope; which he took, opened, and skimmed it.

"Sounds good. I'll be there. After all," Kirito smiled, "anything for a friend."

Solar smiled back and held his hand out. "You know where to go, right?"

"I _have_ been there before, you know. Remember that housewarming gift I gave you?"

Solar smiled. "That was a very thoughtful gift." Kirito had given the guild, more specifically Solar and Skye, a replica of Arctic's sword. As of now, it was safe inside a display case in the lobby of the new building.

"8:00, right?"

"Yup. Remember; SOCIALIZE. You need more friends."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "I'm getting along just fine, thank you very much."

"Sure you are." At that, Solar turned around and waved behind his shoulder to Kirito. "Don't be late."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kirito called to his friend's disappearing back.

 **(x)**

 **7:59 PM**

"It's almost time, everyone!" Akira shouted at the decorators, who were still putting the finishing touches on the place.

"We're almost done, ma'am!" One of the workers called out.

"Just…this…one…AAAAND done!" Her partner called out. Once they finished, he wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"Good job you two." Akira told the workers. "Now go to your rooms and get dressed. It's time." At that moment, the clock struck 8 PM.

The decorators bowed in respect, then rushed to their rooms on the second floor. As Akira saw then go up the stairs, she heard a voice behind her. "That was perfect timing, you know." Smiling widely, Akira turned around and was face to face with Solar. After a quick kiss, Solar asked Akira, "You have the gifts, right?"

Akira nodded, turned around and brought out two gifts from under the table. One was labeled 'Shadow', and the other was labeled 'Kirito'. Both were wrapped in black gift wrap.

A knock on the door was heard, and as Solar went to answer the door, Akira hid the gifts again. She heard Solar talking, but couldn't quite make out what he was saying. When he walked in the room, she saw that Kirito was behind him. Kirito was wearing his coat, which had yellow af the shoulders, along with blue on the yellow, and stars on the blue.

"Hi, Kirito," Akira said cheerfully, and gave the Black Swordsman a quick hug. After the hug was over, she turned and brought out Kirito's gift. When he gave her a questioning look, she winked and said, "A late Christmas present."

Kirito opened it, and saw a coat. Not just any coat; this coat was all black, with white outlines, and a popped-up collar. Kirito came to a sudden realization. "Is this my old coat?"

Akira nodded. "I upgraded it. Now, despite it being a coat, it has a lot of defense, one of the best in the game. The armor is actually in the coat, so it looks and weighs the same, but it's different in terms of defense."

Kirito smiled and put the coat away in his inventory. "I don't want to wear this right now; I'll wear when this coat gets too old."

Akira smiled in understanding. She motioned to the ballroom. "Make yourself comfortable." Kirito nodded and went to wait in the ballroom.

There was knocking on the door again, and Solar went to answer it yet again. When he opened the door, he saw someone…unexpected. "Shadow?"

Shadow stood at the door, wearing his usual attire, his hands in his coat pockets. "Skye invited me."

"Come in." Shadow stepped in, and immediately felt the warmth in the building. It was great after being out in the cold.

"Is that Shadow!?" A familiar voice called out from a different room.

"Yeah!" Solar called back.

Skye stepped out from the room where the voice came from, and smiled at Shadow, who responded with a nod. "Come with me. We have something for you."

As the three entered the lobby, one thing caught Shadow's attention. "What's that?"

Solar looked at Shadow's finger and saw that it went to the replica of Arctic's sword. "Oh, that? That's just a gift that Kirito gave us, so we don't forget our old friend. He was the leader before me, you know."

"..." Shadow had no words to say, so Solar assumed that he went back to his usual apathetic self.

Solar stopped in front of the table, and pulled out the gift. He handed it to Shadow who took it without saying a word. He opened the gift and pulled out a set of throwing knives. He looked at Solar curiously, who responded with, "That is a set of custom throwing knives. They were simple to make, but the hard part is getting the design. You can take a look at the flavor text if you want." Shadow did so. He first examined one of the knives and nodded in approval of its design. It was all black, with one side serrated and a skull design on the pommel. He looked at the rest and saw that they were the same.

"I'll look at it later," Shadow said. He put the knives away and peered into the box. He knew there was more; the box was still heavy. "What's this?" Shadow asked as he pulled out two oversized serrated Bowie knives.

"I made those," Skye said while smiling. Like the throwing knives, these knives were serrated, but their blades were a sleek and polished silver, and the handles were jet-black, along with finger-grips for easier handling. "The reason why it's so shiny is because it's coated with paralysis poison." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "It took a LONG time to get that detail in. But I think you'll like it."

"Pretty sure I will. Thanks." Shadow put those knives away. "Now, where do I go?"

"Follow me," Skye said as she lead the mercenary to the ballroom.

Solar and Akira stayed behind at the door to greet the others who came in. First was Klein and his guild, then the Knights of the Blood Oath, then Wyvern's Inferno, and many others, including some familiar faces, like Agil, who closed his shop to get to the party. Once the majority of the guests arrived, Solar and Akira appointed two Tri-Blade members to take their spots, and Akira went to the kitchen to help with the cooking. Solar went to the ballroom to address the crowd.

Solar cleared his throat, and got everyone's attention. "Hello everyone. Thanks for coming. We will have the dance floor open shortly, and the food will be out soon. Now, the last thing I have to say before we start this party is, well, have fun!" Everyone cheered, except Shadow.

 **(x)**

Pretty soon, everyone was either chatting with people they knew, or dancing on the open dance floor. Of course, there were some loners that decided to stay away from the party, but that was their choice.

Shadow was leaning on a wall with his eyes closed. He felt someone else's presence and opened one eye. Sure enough, he was being approached by yet another loner. "Kirito. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kirito shrugged. "It's no fun hanging out at a party alone. Besides, I'm sure there are some stories we can tell each other."

This time, Shadow shrugged, as if to imply 'why the hell not.' "I'll go first. I suppose you've heard of my most recent escapade with Eros, correct?"

Kirito nodded. "Yep. My turn. You remember when we took down Not-So-Jolly Nicholas the Renegade?"

"Yep."

"..."

"..."

"...I'm gonna go find Solar and talk to him now."

"See ya later." Shadow stood up straight and went off to a different place. Kirito, meanwhile went to find Solar.

Sure enough, he found Solar chatting with Akira. He approached the couple. "Hey, guys."

Both players turned to look at Kirito. Solar smiled widely. "Kirito! Having fun?"

"Yeah. This party is amazing."

"Well, just stay tuned!" Akira said with a wink. "I got word from the chefs that the food is almost out."

Solar chuckled. "I just remembered why I love you." This prompted a laugh from Kirito, and a smirk from Akira.

"I have to go to the kitchen. Bye!" Akira left after kissing Solar.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Solar talked to Kirito while dreamily watching her walk away.

"I'm not going to answer out of fear for my life."

"You best."

"...Anyway, I read in the news that you became the leader of one of the strongest guilds in the game. Congrats bro."

Solar smiled. "Thanks, Ki." Solar got an alert for a message and opened up his inbox. After closing it, he addressed Kirito again. "I have to go. And by the way, if there are any problems, send me a message and I'll be there."

Kirito nodded, and turned back to the party. He looked back over his shoulder to see Solar go down the hall and up the stairs, most likely to deal with an executive issue.

Kirito sighed and looked back to the party. He saw Pearce chatting with Cupid, who was laughing at a joke Pearce made. He looked around and saw that blacksmith that Asuna and the Tri-Bladers were so fond of talking with Eros, who was dressed in her performing outfit. He even heard shouting from the kitchen, and smiled at that. _Nothing wrong here,_ the Black Swordsman thought to himself. He felt a presence behind him, and turned to see someone…unexpected, to say the least. "Shadow?"

The mercenary nodded in affirmation, and motioned for Kirito to follow him. Cautiously, Kirito did so, walking through the hall. He stopped when Shadow did, right at the base of the steps. Shadow looked left and right, and, upon seeing no one follow them, he walked up the stairs, with Kirito following closely behind. While the two were walking, Kirito noticed something off about the mercenary. _His gloves are full-fingered. Doesn't Shadow have fingerless gloves?_ _And when did Shadow stand_ that _hunched over? Last I checked, he stood up straight. What's going on?_ His thoughts were interrupted when "Shadow" stopped in front of a door, and motioned for Kirito to go inside.

After doing so, Kirito heard the door close. Once it did, he turned around. "What's going o―?" Kirito never got the chance to finish his question as he was stabbed by the imposter.

 **(x)**

Shadow leaned against the wall, and was relaxing. Thankfully, no one bothered him too much, and he was just waiting for the food to come out. _If cooking is really easy in SAO, then why is it taking so damn long?_ He opened one eye to see one of the chefs, and his personal favorite Tri-Blader, walk up to him. "Hey, Skye. What's taking so long? Trouble in the kitchen?"

Skye shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Food should be out soon. We just had to make a lot of it."

"I'll take the leftovers if you don't want them."

"Tempting."

"So," Shadow turned around so he faced her fully, "what's up? You wanted to chat?"

Skye nodded. "Something came to mind when I thought of you." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Oh relax. It's just a memory of an old friend."

"Am I right in assuming that it's one of Arctic?" Skye nodded. "You can talk to me; I won't mind."

Skye let out a sigh, and Shadow noticed that she looked sad. "It was early into the game. The second month or so."

 **(x)**

 _Skye had just killed a mob. She raised an eye to her level bar, and smiled widely when she leveled up. Level 45. Being a beta tester sure had its perks. She laid down and relaxed with her hood down. She looked at her new coat, and smiled at its beauty. Her rest was soon interrupted when she heard a sound from the trees behind her. She stood up quickly with her sword in hand. She was unsurprised when she saw about seven players step out from the bushes. She knew what they were here for. She looked back. She silently cursed herself for picking a_ cliff _of all places to kill mobs. Looking back towards the approaching group, she got ready for a fight. It started when one of the players drew a knife and expertly threw it at her. Skye grabbed it and chucked it back, causing the attacking player to duck and dodge the knife, but not the incoming sword slash. The next two tried to assault her at the same time, but they couldn't see it through and were knocked back with a horizontal swipe. Unfortunately, the apparent leader of the group blindsided her, and sent her near the edge of the cliff. She was getting up when she heard the leader speak. "You made a_ big _mistake coming up here alone."_

 _Skye smirked as she got up fully and wiped away the virtual blood from her mouth. "Who said I was alone?" The player killers were trying to figure what she meant, until the two in the back were dragged into the trees, and out jumped Skye's best friends._

" _How did you know we were there?" Arctic asked as the PKers were still in shock over their friends being taken out so easily._

" _Seriously, how good is your detection?" Solar asked as he slashed a nearby PKer._

 _Joining the fight once more, Skye told her brethren, "It's high up there."_

 _The trio were holding their own quite nicely, to the point where there were only three of the PKers still standing. They each took one of the players, and Arctic had taken his out in no time at all. He looked and saw Solar knock his out in barely in a second, and Skye followed suit. Arctic smiled and said, "That was easy." Unfortunately, that arrogance was short lived. He didn't notice the eighth player until it was too late. He ran out of his hiding spot and shoulder-checked Skye off of the cliff, and smiled as he heard her screams all the way down._

" _SKYE!" Both Arctic and Solar shouted as they saw her go over the edge. Both ran to the cliff, and Arctic took out a knife with a rope tied to the end that he had for this type of situation. Wasting no time, he planted the knife into the ground and, with the rope still in his hand, he performed a Leap of Faith over the cliff. Meanwhile, Solar, enraged that this bastard was attempting to kill his friend, drew his sword and engaged the player in a one-sided sword fight, which he swiftly ended with a slice to the player's neck, and the player's head falling off as he shattered. He went back to the edge and anxiously awaited a signal,_ ANY _signal, that indicated that his friends were okay._

 _Meanwhile, Arctic was falling at a faster pace than Skye, so he could catch up to her._ Just a little more, _he thought to himself. He was nearly there, and, when he finally reached her. Wasting no time, he grabbed her by the waist at the same time she wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked down and drew in a sharp breath. He could tell that they were only a couple meters away from the registered height to die. The rope in his hand shook, and the knife loosened a bit. They fell a couple more feet, but that was it. They remained hanging for a couple of seconds as Arctic allowed Skye to cry her tears into his shoulder, as he whispered comforting words to her._

 _Eventually, when Skye stopped crying and pulled her head from his shoulder to nod at him, he pulled on the rope. Solar, noticing the rope on the knife tug slightly, took the hint and pulled the knife out. Still holding it, he yanked the rope up with all the strength he could muster. He saw his friends fly through the air before they hit the ground first, Arctic using his body to absorb the shock wave in Skye's place._

 _Solar was immensely relieved to see the two all right. When he focused his eyes on them…_

" _Oh, God!" he said. "Get a room, you two!" His reason for this exclamation was because after absorbing the impact, the two rolled forward a bit, and Arctic ended up on top of Skye._

 _The two blushed furiously, and Arctic got off of Skye, and Arctic helped Skye back up to her feet. He was caught off guard when Skye hugged him. Skye sighed in content. "My hero," she whispered to Arctic. He hugged her back._

" _Hey!" Both players turned to see Solar with a smile on his face. "I helped too, ya know!"_

 _Skye rolled her eyes, and motioned for the other player to join the hug. The hug became a group a hug, and all three had begun laughing despite what just happened. "I love you guys," Skye said to her friends._

" _We love you too, don't worry," Arctic responded back._

" _Let's go, guys." Upon Solar's suggestion, the three began to walk back, with the boys on either side of Skye._

" _I have an idea!" Skye said, prompting the others to look at her. She smiled. "Let's start a guild."_

 **(x)**

"And that's what happened. How it all began."

Shadow was silent. "And you're telling me this why?"

Skye shrugged. "I needed to tell someone. Solar already knows, but you didn't, so that made you the perfect candidate." Skye looked away, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just miss him so much. Me and Solar both, you know."

Shadow was unsure how to comfort her, so he simply put his hand on her shoulder, and told her, "I'm sure things will get better."

Skye smiled. "Thanks." She received a message and, after viewing it, told the mercenary, "I have to go."

Shadow nodded in understanding. As he watched her leave, he heard a sound from upstairs, despite the music being on full blast. He went to investigate the sound, and ran to one of the rooms on the second floor. He pressed his ear to the door, and heard faint noises. Shadow knocked on the door, got no answer, then burst through it. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

 **(x)**

Asuna had just finished the last of the cooking. She wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow, and smiled while looking down at the now finished food. She was about to call to her fellow chefs that she finished when she heard a sound coming from above her. It sounded like a door smashing open. Concerned, she reequipped her armor, and dashed up the stairs. The room was open, and what she saw made her speechless.

She saw the mercenary, Shadow holding a sword above the head of a motionless Kirito. Hearing Asuna run to the doorway, Shadow looked towards her, and disappeared, leaving no trace. Asuna wasted no time in rushing to Kirito's side and using a healing crystal on him. Although he was fully healed, Kirito was still unconscious. Asuna growled to herself as she looked to where Shadow stood before he disappeared. "You'll pay for this, you bastard!" She didn't care for him; she was concerned because Kirito is a top fighter on the front lines, nothing more.

 **(x)**

"Where are you?" Shadow asked silently, still pissed at what happened to Kirito. If said swordsman wanted Shadow to start helping people, then he may as well start with Kirito. He had been tracking the player who had last used the carbon-copy of his weapon. His tracks led to Floor 50. Shadow's eyes widened as he realized what was on Floor 50. He ran to Agil's shop, and was glad to see the imposter waiting at the door.

Fake Shadow looked towards Shadow, then sprinted off into the forest. "If that's where you want your grave to lie, buddy." With that, Shadow dashed through the empty streets to chase the imposter. When he finally caught up, they were in the middle of the forest. A perfect place for a fight to go down. Stopping behind the faker, Shadow drew his sword and pointed it at the imposter. "Why did you do it? Why did you nearly kill Kirito?!"

Fake Shadow started chuckling. He then turned around and mirrored Shadow's pose. "Laughing Coffin really wants you dead. But not before you're destroyed." He equipped another sword, one that looked exactly like the one he was going to kill Kirito with, and charged at Shadow. Shadow stood his ground and parried the blow. He immediately backflipped away from the oncoming spinning back kick. Whoever this guy was, he was _good_. Almost like he'd been trained to be _him_ in every way possible. _Let's see if he's ready for_ this _!_ Shadow teleported everywhere around the impostor, who merely stood with his blade at his side. He seemed unfazed by all the blows Shadow landed. _High defense_. What happened next, Shadow neither knew nor comprehended.

Fake Shadow turned and sliced his blade upwards, nearly hitting Shadow in the exact spot he was going to teleport. Shadow dodged backwards, avoiding the hit. However, he underestimated the blade's reach, and his face was slashed.

Shadow fell to his knees, reeling from the blow. He was fine; in fact his HP didn't even go down. But something still felt...off. He felt around his face. And with a sudden jolt of shock, looked down.

His mask lay on the ground, cut clean in half. His. Mask. It was steel! How did he cut through?

Shadow could only watch as the pieces of his mask shattered.

"Son of a bitch…" Shadow clenched his teeth and fists.

"Awww," the faker said mockingly. "Did you break something?"

"Yeah," Shadow said, standing up straight and opening his inventory. He chose a clothing item and a black scarf appeared wrapped around his neck, in a fashion similar to Captain Falcon's. He pulled the lower part up to cover his mouth and nose, and the aforementioned part had the design of the lower half of a skull. "Your armor," he finished, picking up his blade and prepared to engage in combat with F. Shadow once more.

 **(x)**

"Solar!" The leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance looked back over his shoulder to see a worried Asuna run up to him. She stopped in front of him, and leaned forward with her hands on her knees as she began to catch her breath. Once she recovered, she looked back up to the swordsman, and worriedly told him, "Come with me! Something happened!"

The two began running side-by-side, with Solar knowing better than to ask questions. If it got Asuna this worried, then it had to be something major. Sure enough, it was as the two stopped in front of the open room, where faint groaning could be heard. The two rushed in, and saw Kirito struggling to get up. Running to his friend's side, Solar looked back to Asuna and told her, "Tell. Me. Everything." Asuna told Solar everything. That she had seen, at least.

Solar, who apparently had on a pair of 2024 shades at the time, lowered them to his nose with a facial expression, and a phrase, that said, "Mother of God." Tossing the shades aside and letting them shatter, Solar looked back to Kirito and asked him, "Do you want me to cancel the party, Edgy the Edgelord? See if I can get you some more help?"

Groaning loudly at Solar's nickname for him, Kirito shook his head no, and managed to say, "Don't… EVER… call me… that… again."

 _You're right, that's more of a Shadow nickname, but then he'll have my ass_ , Solar thought to himself. "Asuna, go back down, and don't tell ANYONE about what happened here. We'll leave that for tomorrow." Asuna nodded in understanding. After she left, Solar looked down at Kirito and told him, "Go home, buddy. You're drunk."

Kirito responded with a very colorful gesture and pulled Solar close. Kirito was trying to say something, and Solar was listening intently. "It…wasn't…Shadow…" Looking at Kirito's health bar, Solar saw a red paralysis sign next to his name.

 _Red Paralysis?_ Solar took out a couple of paralysis potions, and held one to Kirito's mouth. Kirito drank it, and the paralysis went to Yellow. Another potion, and the paralysis was gone. Kirito was able to speak fully.

"It wasn't Shadow. It was an imposter. Shadow actually saved me from certain death. Asuna thinks it was Shadow because of his inconvenient timing. There's no talking her out of it; once this party is over, she's going to see her leader about putting out a manhunt for Shadow. Apparently, I'm valuable."

"How were you so severely paralyzed?"

"The faker had a knife that instilled large amounts of paralysis poison into whoever's skin it meets. I couldn't talk at all, until Asuna gave me a healing crystal."

"I see." After helping Kirito up to his feet, Solar asked him, "Do you want to go back to your home? Or are you going to stay for the countdown?"

Kirito smiled. "Of course I'm going to stay." Solar nodded and turned away, when he felt Kirito's hand grab his arm. Solar looked back with an eyebrow raised, and Kirito told him, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about what happened tonight. I don't want his image to be more tarnished than it already is." Solar nodded, and left back to join the party with Kirito.

 **(x)**

When the two got back, the party was still in full swing, only there were more people on the dance floor, and countless more listening contently to Eros' singing. After her song was over, Solar jumped onto the stage, and Eros jumped off. Addressing the crowd, Solar asked loudly, "IS EVERYBODY HAVING FUN?!" He was met with cheers. "OKAY GUYS, THE FOOD IS _FINALLY_ OUT! HELP YOURSELVES!" At this, there was even more cheering, and everyone began crowding around the food table. The chefs had sure prepared a lot. There was enough to feed the partygoers _at least_ three times over. Looking into the crowd of players who were waiting for the rush to die down for the two he was looking for, he spotted them, and jumped down to get to them.

Once he reached them, Solar started with, "Jesus, you guys prepared a lot of food."

Skye and Akira both laughed, and Akira wrapped her arms around Solar's arm. "Well, I don't know about you, sweetie, but I am ready to party."

"I'll meet you on the dance floor in a minute, sweetie." Nodding, Akira gave Solar a quick peck on the cheek, and ran to join the dance floor. Solar looked towards Skye, and told her, "Shadow had to leave early. There was some business he had to take care of. He told me he'd be back, though." Skye breathed a sigh of relief, and went to sit down at a nearby table. Solar, true to his word, walked into the dance floor, and, after seeing his girlfriend getting her groove on, he did the same. Everyone who saw kept telling him that he could dance like a pro.

 **(x)**

"Why did Laughing Coffin send you?!" Shadow asked as he punched the imposter. After breaking his armor and cutting off the imposter's legs, Shadow stabbed his knives into the insides of the elbows of the imposter. Now, Shadow was interrogating the imposter, and so far, it wasn't going anywhere.

F. Shadow grunted as he got hit. He wasn't going to give anything up. He glanced at his health bar. They weren't in an official duel, nor were they in a safe zone. F. Shadow could very well die here. If he was going to, he wasn't going to give anything up to this guy. "I said I'm not telling you jack shit!" This cheek earned him another punch to the cheek.

"I can do this all night, you know." The imposter knew this was true. "So I suggest that you tell me all that I need so your death won't be in vain. For me, at least."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Not. Saying. SHIT."

Shadow remained silent, then pulled out his special crystal. He activated it, seeing that the interrogation wasn't going anywhere, and teleported away. However, he brought along an unintentional visitor.

 **(x)**

"You weren't meant to see that," Shadow simply stated as they teleported back to where they were, with F. Shadow being in the same spot he was in before. The imposter was just shaken, and had a broken look in his eyes.

"I'll tell you everything…Oh God, just don't take me back there…please."

"...Thanks. Now," Shadow sat down on a nearby rock, "start talking. I'll tell you when to stop."

F. Shadow told Shadow everything. That LC wanted to destroy Shadow because he was giving the passive players of Sword Art Online a ton of hope. That they wanted to destroy his image and make him hated, and want to die. That they went after those that could be considered his friends because they were the people he was most associated with, starting with Kirito and eventually make their way up to Solar and Skye. That they wanted him to suffer greatly before he died.

"Damn them," Shadow cursed Laughing Coffin. "Do they really hate me _that_ much?"

"That and beyond…please, just let me die…"

"My pleasure." Shadow picked up the imposter's bone-white carbon copy of his blade, and stabbed it into the chest area of the faker. The serrated edges allowed for continuous bleeding, and the faker had nearly died by the time Shadow had left the vicinity.

 **(x)**

"Whoah, man, check _this_ out!"

The other kid went to see what his friend was talking about, and gasped when they saw a sword. "No way! Who used this thing last time?"

"..."

"Dude?"

"You won't believe this. Freaking _Shadow_ used this sword last time!"

"Hell yeah! Let's keep it!"

"Maybe we can have some fun with it…"

 **(x)**

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

Skye was getting worried by this point. Solar had promised that Shadow would be back, and so far, said mercenary was a no-show. She even saved him a plate of food, damn it! Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone ask, "Is this seat taken?" Skye was about to snap at the poor soul, then relaxed at seeing that it was the person she was waiting for. He sat down, and took the food gratefully.

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

 **Read and Review!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Message

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 11: The Message**

 **A/N: Hope everyone had a Happy New Year! This chapter is bound to be a good one. Enjoy!**

 **S/N: Sorry if the previous chapter was bad for you guys! Still, I hope you enjoyed it some extent.**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 **January 4, 2024**

 **K.O.B. Headquarters**

"What do you mean, no?!" Asuna growled, slamming her hands onto Heathcliff's desk.

"I meant what I said," Heathcliff said in a calm tone. "I am not authorizing the manhunt for Shadow. And besides, who is Kirito to you?"

Asuna looked away. "A valuable player to have on the front lines," she responded stubbornly.

Heathcliff smiled. "Yes, as are Shadow and the Tri-Blade Alliance. Besides," Heathcliff stood up and walked around his desk, "an alleged attack on one player does not make Shadow a menace."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"We," Heathcliff walked back to the other side of his desk, "do nothing."

"Why?!"

"Do I need to remind who you're talking to, Asuna?" Heathcliff sternly asked the vice commander. "I will deal with Shadow. In the meantime, go ask Kirito what happened. If you don't believe him, then ask the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance. You of all people should know that he is not a liar."

Asuna was silent for a minute. "Yes, sir," she finally muttered. She turned and left without another word.

When she left, Heathcliff sat back down. "So sorry you had to hear all that," he said, turning to the figure behind him.

"Not a problem," Shadow said. "I was hoping that you'd do a better job of convincing her that I'm one of the good guys. I wouldn't have cared if you told her about our alliance."

"Yes, I should have told her. Regardless, I believe she'll lay off you for a while."

"That's enough. We're getting off-topic. Now," Shadow walked to the front of Heathcliff's desk and placed his hands on it, "how do we take down the murder guilds?"

"Titan's Hand, I believe, is being sought out by Kirito."

"We'll leave them in his hands, then. About the others?"

"It would appear that your presence has scared them all. None of them seem to making a move. Most appear to have disbanded."

"That leaves Laughing Coffin, then. You know how dangerous they can be, Heathcliff." Shadow, being a solo player, can call the commander what he wishes, as he is not held back by formalities.

"Indeed. They did nearly kill Kirito, from what you've told me. Also, I recorded your entire interrogation with the imposter." At this, Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Whenever you go to a public location, I always have some recording robots, such as that," Shadow saw a tiny robot with a camera for a face flying around, "record you. Of course, they are never made public."

"I suggest that you show your vice commander the moment when F. Shadow attacked Kirito. Nothing else."

"It shall be done."

"Good. Now, I ask again―what do we do about Laughing Coffin?"

"They tried to deliver a message, and simultaneously destroy your image. I think you should do the same. Show them that you will not let something of this caliber slide."

"I'll see what I can do."

As Shadow turned to leave, Heathcliff called, "And what of the Tri-Bladers?"

"..." Shadow looked over his shoulder to address the commander. "I fight for myself. Besides, they're no pushovers. They can handle themselves. My only concern for them is that if they're gone, then I'll lose my best clients. Now, I'm headed to the Town of Beginnings. I'd appreciate it if you didn't have some robots tail me." With that, Heathcliff blinked and Shadow was gone.

"Yes," Heathcliff chuckled. "I'm sure that's the _only_ reason."

 **(x)**

It was a normal day in the Town of Beginnings. All of the passive players in the town were minding their own business, happily going along with their lives.

One man in particular was in an especially jovial mood; for today was the day where his wife returns from the front lines, if only for a week. They can use that time to catch up.

Earlier that day, he had received a message from her. " _Meet me inside the daycare,_ " it had read. " _3:30. Don't be late._ "

It was 3:25. He left early after getting everything prepared for when she gets home. He was just outside the daycare when someone bumped into him. "Watch where you're going," he muttered. He looked back at the rude individual. They were wearing a heavy cloak with the hood drawn up, so it was impossible for the man to discern whether they were male of female. The player kept walking away. The man turned back around and walked inside the daycare. Before he could reach the front desk, however, someone screamed.

It was so sudden, the man and the receptionist both flinched before realizing that it was a scream of fright. They both barely had time to get out before the blast knocked them out of the building.

A huge crowd had gathered around the daycare, staring at shock and horror at the massive flames engulfing the building. One of the guards had wrapped a blanket around the stunned man; he merely drew it tighter around himself as he screamed.

"NO!" he screamed. "MY WIFE'S IN THERE!" He heard a sound behind him and turned to see a black-clad man. It was the mercenary everyone was talking about; he was also the man his son idolizes, Shadow. "Please," he begged. "You have to help them!" he said as the mercenary walked to the front of the crowd. His only response was a stare as Shadow looked back at him, then to the roaring fire.

The man blinked. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see the mercenary had disappeared. Breaking free from the guard's hold, he stumbled forward before falling to his knees. "YOU BASTARD! WHY?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE?!"He started to cry.

Suddenly, one of the villagers gasped. "Look!" she said, pointing to the window. Everyone looked to where she was pointing. They saw an elbow break the glass of the window, said glass shards shattering. Shadow jumped out landing in a roll as he held himself together. He looked up, directly at the man who was shouting earlier, and opened his coat. A child stepped out. He looked around timidly before finding the man. "Daddy!" he shouted, running towards the man at the front.

In response, the man pulled his son into a tight embrace. He looked up at Shadow, who nodded. The man nodded back.

He ran back inside, gliding like a shadow across the stone and dirt. He broke the windows and let each child hit the ground gently before they ran to the crowd. Eventually, all of the children made it out, and Shadow double-checked to see if he missed any. Thankfully, all of the children were safe. That left the adults.

Shadow looked inside all of the rooms, finding whoever he can and bringing them out. Eventually, he had to find one more person, by his estimate. He looked in all of the rooms.

"Where are you?!" Shadow shouted, hoping he'll get an answer. He got his answer, straining hard enough to hear a cough at the other side of the building.

He dashed to see the woman stuck under debris, losing HP fast. He got the debris off of her and asked, "Are you okay?" The woman nodded in response.

To avoid her losing more HP, Shadow opened his inventory and pulled out a steel mask he made earlier that week, and transferred it to the woman. She opened her menu and equipped it, and as a result stopped the steady flow of her HP decrease.

Shadow picked her up bridal style and attempted to use his Black Star. He cursed when it failed. _Can't use a normal crystal either. From what I heard, the daycare is an Anti-Crystal area in order to stop the children from using teleport crystals. How inconvenient._

Shadow pulled his scarf up and began the trek back to the door.

"Thank you," the woman managed to say.

"Yeah, no problem," Shadow murmured, completely new to the feeling of being thanked.

 _Why the hell am I doing this? I only think about myself. So why?_

Eventually, they made it to the door. But before they could get out, the building started to shake. Shadow threw the woman out before bringing his fists up to block the incoming debris.

It was unsuccessful as the debris fell on him, burying him.

 **(x)**

The man embraced the woman whom Shadow had thrown. "Rose!" he exclaimed. "Thank God you're safe!"

"We need to save him, Yin!" the woman, Rose, said, referring to her savior.

Yin looked towards the crowd watching, then back to Rose, who was staring at him with a pleading expression. Eventually, Yin relented and ran up to the debris. He started picking up the rocks and throwing them aside.

Soon, everyone began following his example, going and removing the debris, calling for the mercenary. It was so influential, even the children were searching.

 **(x)**

Shadow coughed under the debris. _Did I die?_ he questioned. _If so, then am I in Hell?_

He scowled when the rock obscuring his vision was moved, the bright rays of the sun hitting him.

 _Hell is a lot brighter than I thought._

"Come on, champ," Yin said to the mercenary, smiling. Yin gently pulled him out. He looked like he went through all circles of Hell; part of his face was gone, his right arm and left leg were separated from the rest of him, and he apparently breathed in a little smoke, as he couldn't stop coughing.

"Why?" Shadow questioned through his coughing as Yin walked him down to the waiting crowd. Everyone cheered when they saw the two.

"You may be an asshole," Yin said, "but you saved us all. Think you can stand?" he asked once they reached the stone floor of the town.

"I think I can manage," Shadow responded. When Yin let him go, Shadow promptly collapsed, coughing violently. He felt his conscience leave him as everyone gathered around him.

 **(x)**

When Shadow woke up, the first thing he did was check his surroundings. He was in a hospital, judging from all of the white in the room. _This is_ not _my kind of place,_ the mercenary/savior thought to himself. He sat up and looked to his left. There he saw his coat. _Shit!_ He looked down at himself and saw that he was only in his black undershirt and his pants. _At least_ those _were left alone._ He got up and walked to retrieve his coat. Once he re-equipped it, he pulled the hood over his head, right as the door opened.

"Oh! You're awake." Shadow turned and saw the woman he saved holding his scarf and his mask. Without a word, he reached out for his items and Rose handed them without a word. He put the mask back in his inventory, and put the scarf back on, tying it the way it normally was. Once that was done, he turned back to Rose.

"Where's my sword?" She pointed under the bed, and Shadow went to retrieve it. Once he put the sword back on his back, he looked towards Rose. "Thanks for looking after me. I'll be―"

"You're not going anywhere. There are still some people who want to thank for what you did. Follow me." The two left the room, and Shadow was greeted with cheers when he left the room.

"It's him, everyone!"

"Thank you, Shadow!"

"You're the best!"

"We love you, Shadow!"

One person even shouted, "I don't care what everyone else says, you're a hero!"

This surprised Shadow to no end. Eventually, one of the children walked up nervously. It was one of the first kids he saved.

"Um, Mr. Shadow, sir?" Damn, the kid was a nervous wreck.

Shadow knelt to his level. The could couldn't have been older than 13. 14, maybe. And yet, he was so tiny. "Yeah, kid?"

"My name is Jacob, and I was hoping that you could make me a coat. Like yours." Shadow was silent for a minute. He stood up and opened his crafting menu. He had the necessary materials to make one duplicate coat, but that was it. Without a second thought, Shadow crafted the coat, and, as it was forming, he placed it on Jacob, and the coat formed. It was comedically oversized for him, but Jacob was happy nonetheless. He could hear the other kids whispering in awe, and it made him feel good. "Thanks, Mr. Shadow!"

"It's just Shadow, Jacob." With that, Shadow pat Jacob on the head, then turned to the crowd of adults. "Where's Jacob's dad? I need to ask him something."

Yin stepped forth. "What is it?"

"Did you happen to see who started the fire?"

"No. But I did see a suspicious player walk away from the daycare before the fire began."

"How suspicious are we talking?"

"Does the name 'Laughing Coffin' ring any bells?"

Shadow froze for a moment, as did all the others. Even the children knew of the infamous Laughing Coffin. He walked towards Yin, and told him, "Come with me."

The two men walked outside the hospital. Shadow asked the other man, "How did you know they were LC?"

"Their attire. All members of LC wear black, tattered cloaks, right?"

"As far as I know. And you're positive it was LC?"

"I saw them clear as day. He even disappeared once the fire started."

"They must have known I was going to be in Floor One," the mercenary whispered to himself. He looked back towards Yin. "You've no idea how much you helped me today, Mr…"

"It's Yin. And my wife's name―the woman you saw when you woke up―is Rose."

"Nice names. Now, if you'll excuse me," Shadow turned around and began walking away, "I have to send a message."

 **(x)**

The Laughing Coffin Headquarters. It's been known that the building is very heavily fortified, to the point where the building itself has been made an Anti-Crystal Zone. No one knows what floor it's located in, but there has been speculation that Floor 13 is the supposed place. If an intruder gets in, then they'll have to deal with the hundreds of mercenaries LC bought the services of.

At that exact moment, the head of Laughing Coffin and his top soldiers are holding a meeting.

 **Inside the Fortress…**

"Welcome, all of you," the leader said once everyone was accounted for. "Today, we discuss an urgent matter," he stated while taking his seat at the end of the table. The room was dimly lit; the only sources of light were the torches on the pillars in the room. "We gathered to discuss our next plan of attack," he continued.

"Pardon my asking, sir," one of the soldiers said, "but just exactly _who_ are we attacking?"

"Show some respect!" one of the other members stood up from his chair and growled.

"It's quite all right," the leader said, waving for the member to sit back down. "An apt choice of words, actually. We will be attacking Shadow, both in mind and body. The reason why is because he's giving people too much hope; hope that everyone can get out of SAO. And we plan to crush all semblance of hope so no one can ever escape; so we'll have more to kill."

"Why do we kill, sir?"

"You're new, aren't you?" When the soldier nodded, the leader told him, "We kill because it's _fun_. And do we have any way to kill Shadow once and for all?"

"If the fire I caused did its job," another member said, putting his feet on the table. "Then everyone in that daycare should be dead. Including Shadow."

The leader smiled. "Excellent, XaXa! A bold plan indeed."

"But," a third member spoke up, "we should make contingency plans in the event Shadow _does_ survive."

"Right you are. So, what do you say to an ambush? I bet not even he would suspect that, right?"

"A brilliant idea!" everyone chorused.

"Now to close the meeting," the leader said. He stood up and held his sword downwards in front of him. Everyone else soon followed their leader-except for one.

"Johnny Black," the leader said. "Please stand up."

Johnny Black, who sat at the other end of the table, raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak, and promptly fell forward, a knife wedged deep in his back. Everyone jumped back in alarm.

His HP was extremely low; he had been stabbed with his knife and was paralyzed as a result. They all saw... _something_ pull the knife out.

The remaining members looked around before seeing the knife drop right next to the fallen Black's head.

After some time in a deadly silence, the guild's gift box rang. The leader cautiously opened it and received a crystal. It started glowing.

When it activated, the message it delivered was:

" _I'm still alive._

 _This is war_."

As the crystal dropped to the table, the LC members made one conclusion:

Shadow had survived.

 **Read and Review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Slaughterhouse

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 12: Slaughterhouse**

 **A/N: I got some reviews asking me to add more KiriSuna moments. And I assure you, the next chapter will have KiriSuna moments. For now, please enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

" _In other news, one of the top members of Laughing Coffin was nearly assassinated yesterday. Why the job was never finished is beyond anybody. Could it be a message? Stay tuned for more details."_

Heathcliff turned his robot off and turned to Shadow, a smile on his face. "An excellent way to send a message, my friend," he stated.

"Yeah," Shadow agreed. "Now they know that we mean business. We should wait for their next move."

"Yes, I suppose we should. We'll continue this later. You can show yourself out, I believe."

 **(x)**

Shadow teleported outside of the base of the K.O.B. He was walking away when he heard someone call, "Shadow."

He turned around calmly to see the vice commander of the K.O.B walking up to him. "What do you want, Asuna?"

"The commander showed me the clip. I'm sorry. I thought that it was you who nearly killed Kirito."

"Why do you care?"

Asuna raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me why I care that a player was nearly killed?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "No. I'm asking why _you_ care that _Kirito_ , of all players, was nearly killed. If it was Solar or any of the Tri-Bladers, then I'd understand. But for a solo player like Kirito? Why?"

"He's one of the top players on the front lines."

"So am I."

"Humble, much?" Asuna whispered under her breath. Shadow heard it, though. "If either one of you two are gone, we can kiss our chances of getting out of this game goodbye."

"You _do_ care."

"Regardless, I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

"Won't Kirito get jealous if you're watching _me_ instead of him?"

"Shut up." With that, the vice commander walked away.

Under his scarf, Shadow smirked and turned the other way. As he was walked into the forest to hunt for some items, ANY items, honestly, he was hit with something. He placed his hand on his neck, where he got hit, then stumbled forward. _Oh shit,_ was his last thought before he hit the ground and fell unconscious due to the tranq dart.

 **(x)**

" _You sure you want to go?" his friend asked, following the player to the door. He looked back to see his two best friends._

" _I have to," the player-to-leave responded. "Neither of you have any idea what I'm going through."_

 _The male friend bit his lip. "Yeah, I'm sure we don't. But then, who's going to take your place?"_

" _I'm sure you two have it handled."_

" _How will we know when you come back?" the other player asked, sadness lacing her voice._

" _Life's never a_ when _situation," he told her. He put a hand on her head. "It's always an_ if _situation." The female player blushed. He turned away while removing his hand from her head. He proceeded to open his friends list. He selected all of the players on the list, and unfriended them. He turned to the other two and, with a sad tone that broke their hearts, told them, "Don't come looking for me. Please." With that, he walked out the door, held up a crystal and said:_

" _Teleport: Town of Beginnings."_

 **(x)**

"I think you used too much poison," a voice faintly said.

Shadow woke up and groaned quietly. Without picking his head up, he could discern that he was no longer in the woods, but rather in a dimly lit room. He looked to the direction where the voice originated. His blood boiled when he saw the familiar tattered cloaks. _Laughing Coffin_.

At this point, Shadow picked himself up and faced the crowd.

"Nonsense," another player said. He pointed to the now standing mercenary. "He's awake."

"Where am I?" Shadow demanded.

"You're in one of our safe houses," the LC player said. He appeared to be the leader of the party, as he was wearing actual armor and was wielding a scythe instead of any of the short ranged weapons the guild was known for. "We brought you here because we," he continued, casually pulling up a chair and sitting in the reverse position, "have a proposition," he finished, motioning for Shadow to sit down. When Shadow still stood up, the group leader assured him, "We're all friends here. No one's gonna kill you without a just cause."

Finally, Shadow cautiously pulled up a chair and sat down. "I'm listening."

The leader smiled wider. "Great! Now then, here's our offer. Youㅡ"he pointed to Shadowㅡ"will join Laughing Coffin."

"And why would I do that?!"

"Because if you don't," he said while opening his menu to write a message, "then your friends will die."

"A guy like me doesn't have friends."

"Oh, really?" He held his hand out, and one of the other three members watching handed him a list. He casually scrolled through it, looking up to see Shadow's reaction. "Solar. Akira. Kirito." Shadow remained indifferent. "Is Asuna a friend?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then what about...Skye?" Shadow tensed, and the leader smiled widely. "Oh! So _that's_ who you care about! Well, if you don't join us, they all bite the dust. Especially Skye. So, what do you say?"

"Go ahead."

The leaderㅡand everyone elseㅡblinked. "Um...what?"

"You heard me. Give the order. Because to me, those people are nothing more than business associates. Clients, if you will. Even if _they_ die, there _are_ more clients in this game."

Everyone was silent. "Damn," the leader said. "I expected you to be cold. I wasn't expecting a fucking blizzard to roll in here."

"I like to shatter expectations. Makes me feel good."

"Ah, well," the leader shrugged. "We gave you a choice." The leader stood up and drew his weapon. Shadow did as well, but he silently cursed when he grasped nothing but air. "Did you really think that we'd let _you_ keep your sword?"

Shadow said nothing, and went into a martial arts stance instead. "I guess I'll test my luck with a scythe, then." This surprised the leader, as he honestly expected Shadow to give up. This distraction allowed Shadow to dash forward, grab the scythe and head butt the leader, stunning him momentarily. That was all he needed. During the time that the leader was stunned, Shadow swung his scythe, getting into the learning curve, and took the head off of one of the lackeys. Then, he threw the scythe, which was surprisingly light, and it lodged itself in the head of another lackey. Afterwards, he snapped the neck of the final lackey before teleporting in front of the group's leader. As the leader was finished recovering from the head butt, Shadow walked up calmly, making sure to grab the scythe from the shattering player. Shadow grabbed the leader and brutally cut off his arms from the shoulders. As the player was screaming in pain, Shadow grabbed him by his armor, and told the player, "Tell your leader that this safe house is mine, and to go fuck himself." With that, Shadow threw the leader to the door, and he scrambled out without a second thought. Shadow relaxed and stretched his muscles momentarily. Afterwards, he looked at his new scythe. "Reincarnation, huh? This weapon is dripping in irony." He viewed its durability, and cursed silently. He looked for his signature weapon, and found it amongst many, _many_ other weapons. After re-equipping his sword and putting the scythe in his inventory, he looked at the mound of weapons. "I'm sure that these will come in handy." He left the building, and made sure to mark it on his map (a new feature that was recently added). "Floor 52: Apokolips. Gotta remember that." He then went to search for the one person who he knew could fix his new weapon.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 48: Lindas**

"Thank you, come again!" The blacksmith called to her most recent customer. She left satisfied with the service (no homo). The blacksmith was happily closing up shop, immensely satisfied with the amount of customers she had (again, nothing wrong here). She was about to close her shop for the day when she heard the door open. She smiled to herself. One more customer wouldn't hurt.

"Welcome to Lizbeth's Blacksmith ShoㅡAHH!" She screamed when she saw who her customer was.

"I have a weapon that needs repairing," Shadow calmly said, ignoring the blacksmith's reaction.

"You're h-h-him!" Liz stuttered while pointing a finger at the mercenary.

"I have a weapon that needs repairing," the mercenary repeated calmly.

"Why should I help _you?!_ You're a killer!" Liz put her fists on her hips as she accused Shadow.

"I'm asking you because," Shadow pulled his hood and scarf down, with Liz gasping in shock in who it was, "you are the best in the _Liz_ , after all." That confirmed it. There was only one person who had that little inside joke with her.

" _You?! You're Shadow?!"_

 **(x)**

" _You're such an idiot," Lizbeth said while laughing._

" _And yet, I can still make you laugh," the other player said while smiling. They were in the fields, and had spent the day together. He was a member of a guild, and it was his day off. So he decided to spend it with Liz. "I heard about what happened," the man said, no longer smiling._

 _Liz had stopped laughing as well, and looked down sadly._

" _It was my fault," she said miserably. "If I hadn't been so persistent, then they would still be alive."_

" _It wasn't your fault," the friend said reassuringly. "No one could have known that the room was a trap, least of all you or me. But hey, at least_ you _got out alive. And if they were here, then they would not want you to mourn for them."_

" _True." Lizbeth wiped away the tears that were falling._

" _And I heard you became quite the introvert. And I think I know why. You don't have to be scared. I'm here for you_ _ㅡ_ _we all are. And if you ever need help, just remember: You have me on your friends list. Send me a message."_

" _Thanks," Liz said, smiling again. "You know," she said while looking at the sunset, "I've been thinking about becoming a blacksmith."_

" _Well, I'm sure you'd be the best in the_ Liz _."_

" _Oh my god!" Lizbeth shouted, laughing out loud. "I_ knew _you were going to say that!"_

" _You gave me an opening," he said, laughing as well. "What, was I_ not _supposed to say it?"_

 _Lizbeth sighed and laid down on the grass, with her friend following suit. She looked towards him and smiled._

 _Too bad he was taken._

 **S/N: Sorry for the shorter chapters, but at least we're updating faster.**

 **A/N: Sorry for the sorry excuse for a cliffhanger, but at least it's getting** _ **somewhat**_ **interesting.**

 **Anyways, Read and Review!**


	13. Chapter 13: The Shadow Killings--Part 1

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 13: The Shadow Killings-** **Part 1**

 **S/N: We're back, with a special arc planned for Friday the 13th.**

 **A/N: Hopefully, this will be one of the longer chapters. This arc itself will also be merged with the two-part episode, "Murder in the Safe Zone".**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 **March 6, 2024**

In the backroom of Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop, Liz and one of her customers were busy with restoring the durability of the customer's weapons. Liz looked towards him while working and shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe _you're_ Shadow."

Shadow, who had his hood and scarf down, replied, "You better believe it. You of all people know how much one person can change."

"Yeah, I know. But what happened to you-it was wrong. She shouldn't have died."

"On that, we can agree." The mercenary looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it, Liz."

"And knowing you, you didn't find anyone else, did you?"

"How could I? _No one_ made me feel the way she did. She was the _world_ to me. And I killed her."

Liz slammed the weapon down, shocking Shadow. "Don't do that bullshit. Don't say you killed her. It wasn't you."

"You weren't there."

Liz bit her lip, then picked up the weapon and continued to repair it. "You're right. I wasn't there. But I didn't have to be there to know that it wasn't you."

Shadow was silent for a minute. During that time, Liz repaired the weapon and handed it to Shadow. "Free of charge. You _are_ a friend after all."

The hug that Shadow gave Liz was highly unexpected as she dropped the scythe. "I can't thank you enough, Liz."

"Relax," Liz said while returning the hug. "It's just a weapon."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Shadow pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Thanks for agreeing to keep my secret. It means a lot."

"No problem." Liz picked up the scythe and winked and smiled at Shadow. "Now take your weapon and get out of here before I charge you."

Shadow smirked at her antics, then pulled his hood and scarf up and left with the scythe in his inventory.

 **(x)**

 **April 11, 2024**

 **Floor 59: Danac**

"There you are." Shadow looked down from his tree branch to see Solar looking up at him with his arms crossed. "Where were you?"

"I don't follow."

"We had a raid this morning. It was a field boss, an INCREDIBLY stupid one, but we could've used your help."

"How stupid are we talking?"

"Sheeptar the Sheep King."

"..." Shadow was silent for a minute. He jumped down from his branch to face Solar. "I don't think I heard you right."

"No, you did. You should've been there. He was climbing the walls, spitting acid-"

"You sure it was a sheep? You most likely confused it for a very fluffy xenomorph."

"I don't know anymore. It even killed 12 of our players."

"Are your Tri-Bladers _that_ weak?"

"They refused to fight a boss that stupid, so I had to work with the Holy Dragon Alliance."

"That explains it."

"I've just had a long day. You wanna get something to eat? I'll pay."

"Since you're offering."

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile, on the same floor…**

Kirito was lying down on the grass, enjoying the peace and the warm sunshine when he heard someone speak behind him. "What are you doing?" the voice asked. Kirito opened his eyes and looked up to see Asuna standing above him with a sour expression on her face.

Kirito went back to relaxing. "Oh, hey. 'Sup?" was his only response.

"Everyone in the Assault Team is working their butts off to clear the dungeon, and where do I find you? Out here, taking a nap." Asuna leaned forward slightly. "Even _if_ you're a solo player, you should take this more seriou―"

"Bet you didn't know this is Aincrad's nicest season," Kirito said, cutting her off. "Today's weather is at its optimum setting."

"Huh?" Asuna asked with a confused expression on her face.

"It'd be a waste to go to work on a day like this."

"Whatever," Asuna said. "I can't believe you. Do you even understand what's going on? Every day here is another one lost in the real world.

"Yeah, but right now, we're not in the real world, are we? We're in Aincrad." Asuna's expression softened after Kirito's retort as the wind picked up slightly, providing a nice breeze. "See?" Kirito asked. "Doesn't that breeze feel so good? And the sun…"

"Oh, come on!" Asuna said. "The weather's always the same here."

Kirito groaned in pleasure as the breeze continued. "If you laid down on the grass for a little bit, you'd understand." As soon as he finished that sentence, Kirito promptly fell asleep. Asuna looked around her surroundings, then up, and winced as she covered her eyes from the sunlight.

Eventually, she looked down at Kirito, who looked so peaceful sleeping that she couldn't help but join him.

 **Later…**

Kirito woke up, having enjoyed his nap very much. He yawned and stretched and looked beside him―only to be shocked at the sight of Asuna sleeping next to him.

"Hey, would you look at that?" Kirito heard a voice speak. He turned to see three soldiers walking down the road that the field ended at. "Takin' a nap in the middle of the day?" the soldier who spoke continued.

"Some people sure got it easy," another soldier said as the trio walked past.

"Couple'a lazy losers, man," the third soldier said, as their voices―and bodies―retreated further down the road.

Once they were gone, Kirito looked back to the sleeping form of Asuna. "I can't believe she fell asleep," Kirito stated while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He turned back to look at her. Once he saw how peaceful she looked, he decided not to wake her.

 **Much Later…**

Kirito sat on the stone wall separating the rest of the field, facing the sunset with his eyes closed. He opened them and turned as he heard Asuna sneeze behind him.

Asuna woke up, still looking sleepy, as she had drool dripping from her mouth and a blade of grass stuck on her left cheek. She looked around sleepily before finally focusing on Kirito. She gasped once she saw Kirito. She stammered, trying to come up with something to say, when Kirito said, "Good morning." An ironic statement, considering it was sunset. "You slept like a rock," he continued, the smile never leaving his face.

Asuna immediately got up and put her hand on her rapier, causing Kirito to panic and jump to the side of the wall that Asuna was _not_ on. She sheathed her sword and was trembling with body aches as she removed her hand from her weapon. "You get one meal," she said while simultaneously looking down and blushing.

"Huh?"

"One meal!" She stood up straight and looked away. "All you can eat. My treat. Then we'll be even. Deal?"

Kirito stood there, not sure what to do, before he accepted her offer.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 54: Spirit**

"Are they here _together_?"

"You don't think they're…"

"Maybe?"

It was getting increasingly difficult for the leader and the mercenary to ignore the comments and whispers. Wanting to break the ice, Solar told Shadow, "You know they're calling you 'The Shadow of Sword Art Online', right?"

Shadow responded with, "And they're calling _you '_ The Savior of Sword Art Online'."

"Don't know why; I haven't done anything particularly important. Didn't even want to be seen that way."

"Well, if you think about it, you _are_ the face of the most powerful guild in SAO, _and_ you cleared most of the bosses. I only came in around Floor 50."

"And yet, tales of your heroics _and_ your one-sided war against Laughing Coffin have spread, O Silent Savior."

"I like my nickname. It fits me."

"I _don't_ like my nickname. I don't deserve it."

Eventually, the comments and whispers got enough when one girl asked, "Do you think they're dating?" to her friends.

Solar and Shadow both stood up and faced the crowd. Simultaneously, they said, "No! None of that!" They pointed at the crowd. "Shame on you." With that, they left after Solar left Col on the table to pay for their meal.

When they were outside, Shadow said, "I should go."

Solar nodded. "I'll see ya in the next boss raid."

"Floor bosses only."

"Got it." With that, the two shook hands and parted ways.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 50: Algade**

Agil looked behind him as his door opened. He broke into a smile when he saw who it was. "Shadow. How's my best customer?"

Shadow (unusually) gave Agil a brofist. "Not bad."

"Got anything for me today?"

"I could ask you the same. But yes, I do."

Agil beamed. "Great! What do you have to sell?"

Shadow opened his inventory in response. He showed Agil the items he desired to sell:

" _Rakshasa's Claw (Dagger) (B Class)...3000 Col_

" _Level 50 Healing Potion (×5)...2500 Col_

" _Teleport Crystal (×8)...400 Col_

" _Bastard Sword (2-Handed) (A Class)...7500 Col_

" _Total Sum: 13400 Col."_

"A good haul today?" Agil asked as he bought the items Shadow sold.

"Truth be told, I was planning on selling these for a couple weeks now. And I'd like to buy anything I _didn't_ sell you."

Agil laughed. "That's not a lot of options, my friend. Anyways, rumors have been going around that you use scythes, now."

"Those rumors wouldn't be incorrect."

"If that's the case, someone brought in a weapon that I believe will be to your liking." Agil brought out the item from under his countertop. Shadow's eyes widened when he saw the scythe.

It was a true beauty; a jet black handle with a blood-red blade. The design on the blade itself was a white skull, and the handle of the scythe had finger grips near the top of the handle and the bottom of the handle. A menu popped up, and it read:

 _Purchase: Blood Rose (S-Class)?_

 _Price: 500,000 Col_

"Are you kidding me?" Shadow asked incredulously. "Someone sold an _S-Class_ item?! Of all things?!"

"Do you want it?" Agil asked.

"Of course." With that, Shadow pressed 'Yes', and Blood Rose went into his inventory. As he purchased his new scythe, two pairs of footsteps entered the place. Without turning back, Shadow looked to Agil and said, "I can see you're going to be busy. I'll see myself out."

 **(x)**

Kirito and Asuna were…surprised, to say the least, when they saw Shadow in Agil's shop. After hearing the mercenary say that he would leave, Kirito reached out and grabbed Shadow's arm before he could leave the room. As the mercenary turned around, Kirito told Shadow, "There's been a murder in the safe zone, and we could use your help."

Shadow shrugged. "Why not? Not like I have anything better to do, anyway." Shadow looked towards Agil. "You have a back room we could use?"

Agil nodded nervously, tensed up at the fact that _Asuna_ of all people was in his shop because of Kirito. "Follow me."

As the quartet walked into the back room, Kirito, Agil, and Asuna sat down while Shadow remained standing. "We have a weapon that we need you to appraise," Asuna stated.

Agil raised an eyebrow. "What's so important about this weapon?"

This time, Kirito responded. "It's the murder weapon."

"So getting Agil to appraise the weapon would help you find the potential killer?" Shadow spoke up.

Asuna nodded. "That's right."

Agil held out his hand. "Let me see the weapon." Asuna dropped a sword in his hand. It was primarily red and had spikes on both sides of the blade. Agil appraised it, and said, "The weapon's name is Guilty Thorn. It's not a sword. It's a lance, and it's a player-made weapon."

"Who made it?" Kirito asked.

Agil peered over the appraisal menu. "A player named Grimlock."

"Maybe he's linked to Schmitt and Yolko?" Kirito asked.

"Maybe," Asuna said.

"Agil, let me see the weapon." When Agil gave Kirito the weapon, he proceeded to position the weapon over his arm. He thrusted it downwards, and a hand grabbed it right before it penetrated his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Asuna yelled.

"I'm trying to see if this weapon has any effects, like if it's able to kill in a safe zone."

"What would _you_ have to gain from stabbing yourself?!"

"Huh. You're right."

Something grabbed the weapon from Kirito's hand, and the trio turned to see Shadow drive the blade into his own arm, much to everyone's shock. The normally stoic mercenary grimaced. "This weapon will hurt. Like a _bitch_. The thorns on the side will provide a bleeding effect, but it certainly won't kill in a safe zone." He pulled the weapon out, and handed it back to Kirito and Asuna.

Asuna shook her head. "You keep it. Think of it as our reward for helping us."

Shadow sighed as he pulled the weapon back towards himself. "Handing the inconspicuous edgelord the murder weapon. Never gets old." With that, Shadow, Kirito, and Asuna left. Shadow parted from the two, and went about his own business.

 **(x)**

 **(S/N: Time Skip to after Grimlock is taken away by Schmitt, Yolko, and Keins)**

Kirito yawned and stretched as Yolko, Schmitt, and Kains walked away with Grimlock. "Hey." Asuna started. Kirito looked over to her as she continued. "Say it was you, and you married someone, and later on you found out she had a side to her you didn't know about. How would you feel?" Asuna looked towards Kirito, awaiting his response.

Kirito turned to face Asuna fully. "Well, I guess, that I was lucky?" He said this as a question because he wasn't sure. Noticing Asuna's expression, Kirito quickly added, "B-Because, I mean, if you marry someone, then that means that you already like what you know about them, doesn't it? And if you discovered something about them that you didn't know before, and fell in love with that, too, then wouldn't that be awesome?"

Asuna was silent for a moment, then closed her eyes as she said, "Right. Good answer. Anyway, I'm hungry after all this. I didn't get to finish my dinner."

"O-Oh, yeah, you didn't."

Asuna stretched as she said, "We should really get back to work tomorrow. We've been off the front lines for two days."

"Yeah, I was hoping to have this floor totally cleared by the end of this week." Asuna walked forward for a bit before Kirito grabbed her arm. "Now what?" Kirito merely pointed behind themselves. They turned saw a ghost. It looked like Griselda. Asuna was at a loss for words. She turned to Kirito and was even more shocked to see his jaw drop. She turned back to the ghost, only to see that it had left. The two stood for a second longer, watching the sunrise behind the tree in front of them. "Hey, Kirito? Do you wanna friend me?" Kirito looked towards Asuna in shock, to which she replied with, "It's kinda silly not to. It's convenient. We _are_ on the same assault team, after all."

"But I'm a solo player. Besides, Shadow doesn't have friends."

"He's a mercenary. It's a different case for him. And I didn't say you had to form a party with me." She put her hand on her waist as she said, "You should try to make _some_ friends while you're here."

"Yeah, I don't know. It's not that I don't want to, but―Hey!" Asuna smacked Kirito on the arm, surprising, but not hurting, the Beater.

"Think about it while we eat. C'mon," Asuna turned to leave, "let's go find a good restaurant."

"U-Uh, okay…" Kirito turned after Asuna.

As the two were leaving, Kirito saw something beyond the trees. He stopped Asuna and pointed it out to her. She had to squint to see it (her detection was not as high as Kirito's). She eventually saw it, and her jaw dropped when she laid her eyes on the scene.

She saw Shadow kneeling over a grave, not moving for a minute. Eventually, he stood up, and wiped his eyes. He turned to leave, and he eventually disappeared beyond their vision. They went to see what Shadow was doing over there. Asuna, however, was more focused on the fact that the mercenary could cry. Besides, they couldn't read the name of the grave even if they tried.

After all, it'd be impossible to read a stone with a sword stabbed through it, right?

 **(x)**

 **Friday the 13th, April 2024**

 **Floor 58: Rising Waters Hotel**

"What happened here?" This was the first question that the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance had for the HDA members on the scene when they called him and his girlfriend.

"You know about that whole 'Murder in the Safe Zone' thing that happened a couple of days ago?"

"That was proven to be a hoax, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not." The two players walked into the hotel room. "Some kid heard screaming through the door. When he busted through it, all he saw was a weapon. He knew someone went in there earlier, so the room wasn't empty. You're going to want to see what the weapon used was. You might know what it is." The HDA guild member walked over to the bed in the room and picked up a weapon. He walked back to the TBA guild leader, and handed him the weapon. Solar examined it in his hand. It was a dagger. The weapon was serrated, and held a blood red to its blade, and was long enough to qualify as a shortsword. B-Class, from the looks of it. He appraised the weapon and drew in a sharp breath.

Akira peered from behind him, and grimaced. "Skye's _not_ going to like this."

The menu read:

" _Rakshasa's Claw (Dagger) (B Class)_

 _Made by: Shadow"_

 **(x)**

 **End of Part 1**


	14. Chapter 14: The Dance in the Shadows

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 14: The Dance in the Shadows**

 **A/N: Sorry, guys. No KiriSuna moments in this chapter. Only action.**

 **Also, this chapter's full title is "The Shadow Killings―Part 2: The Dance in the Shadows."**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**

 _Shadow's thoughts_

Bella's thoughts

 **(x)**

" _Attention, all fighters on the front lines! There has been a murder yesterday, and based on evidence collected at the scene of the crime, the prime suspect is the mercenary known as Shadow. If you bring him in alive, this will be your reward:_

 _10,000,000 Col."_

 **(x)**

 **Floor 48**

 **Devil's House**

Argo was sitting on a bench with her hood down, enjoying the sunlight hitting her face. Her peace was rudely interrupted when she heard someone sit down on the bench opposite hers. She was annoyed even more so when the unknown player said, "What've you got for me?"

Recognizing the amused tone, Argo immediately lost her annoyed expression. "Hey there," she said. "You won't _believe_ what I've got for you today."

"Go on," the mystery player said with an amused tone.

"There's a bounty on one of the top fighters in SAO."

"Are they on the front lines?"

"No, _he's_ not. He's just a mercenary. And somehow, we got past Floor 50―and beyond―with his help."

The unknown player whistled. "Floor 50 didn't look easy."

"It wasn't."

"What's his name?"

"Shadow."

The unknown player looked towards Argo. "Really?"

Argo nodded. "Really. And he's no joke, either."

"Why is there a bounty on his head, then?"

"Because he apparently killed someone."

The unknown player rolled her eyes under her hood and laughed slightly. "Well, of course he'd kill somebody. He _is_ a merc, after all."

"I'm talking about a civilian."

The other's eyes narrowed dangerously as she faced Argo fully. "What?" she asked, the amusement in her tone replaced with malice.

"This is actually out of his M.O. Last I heard, he only kills red players; he doesn't even think about going for civilians."

She looked down and clenched one hand into a tight fist. She looked towards Argo. "How much is the reward?"

"10 million Col."

The newly christened hunter looked towards the nearby forest, closely seeing a black shape darting through the trees. "What does he wear?"

"In short―just look for a guy who wears all black and has nightmare-fuel red eyes."

The hood started to run into the woods, only to be stopped as Argo grabbed her arm. "Be careful," the info broker said with concern in her eyes. "His equipment and skills match yours in every way."

She looked towards Argo and smiled in amusement. "Sounds like fun," she said, the amused lilt making its way back into her voice. "And the 10 mil would make for a _very_ nice bonus."

 **(x)**

Shadow cursed as he ran through the woods. So far, he hadn't run into any mobs, which was good, but he _really_ needed something to vent his frustrations out on. Plus, he needed to get to Lindas, as Liz had called both him and Agil there. And he decided to use the woods as a shortcut, since the teleport system was down _again_.

He stopped when he felt something...unusual. _Despite the lack of mobs, the forest is_ never _this quiet_. He looked around himself, before hearing something above him. The noise was so quiet that, despite his maximum straining skill, he barely heard it. However, that sound alone told him enough. Shadow jumped back as a hooded player stabbed spot in the ground where he was standing. He growled as she looked up. Shadow drew his sword, and the two players charged each other, clashing blades once they got close to each other.

"Why are you attacking me?" he asked/growled.

"You know why," the unknown player growled back.

"Enlighten me."

He dodged the oncoming attack and took the time to switch to his knives, clashing with the player once again as they formed. They broke away and Shadow asked, "How much are they paying you?"

"10 mil."

Shadow whistled. "Didn't think I'd be worth that much. Okay, okay," he said while sheathing his knives and holding his hands up. The attempted assassin sheathed her weapons as well. "I propose a deal."

Hood was silent. "I'll hear you out," she finally said. "Beyond that, I make no promises."

"We both duel. And if you win, my fate is in your hands. But if _I_ win, you hear me out and let me go free."

"Fine," she finally said. "Don't expect to win, by the way."

"I would've said the same for you."

Hood smirked. "Funny. So, are we fighting or not?" she asked, drawing her weapons. Now that she wasn't attacking him, he got a full look at Hood.

Her cloak and hood were light grey and trimmed with dark blue, and her daggers were sharp and silver. Shadow recognized the familiar shine his knives had. _Paralysis poison...She means business_.

"Yeah," Shadow said, drawing his own knives as well, and pulling his scarf down. "Let's dance," he said, getting into a fighting stance.

 **(A/N: The Dance in the Shadows begins here.)**

 **(Cue: (Nightcore) "Let it Burn")**

Hood was the first to attack, dashing behind Shadow and attempting to stab him, but was stopped when Shadow brought his blades back and blocked her incoming knives, knocking her away in the aftermath. He turned and sliced, only to hit thin air. He came to a realization and brought his knives in a defensive position over his head. Sure enough, Hood came down at him, being near invisible in the shadows of the trees. He blocked her attacks and kicked her away again. He twirled his knives and waited for something, _anything_ , that gave away her location.

After a tense silence, he heard the snapping of twigs _extremely_ close to his right. He turned and dodged just barely in time, as Hood jumped and sliced her daggers, making deep marks on the tree behind where Shadow used to stand. She turned and deftly dodged Shadow's oncoming swipes. She responded by charging up her sword skills, with Shadow answering in kind. Once their blades were fully charged, they both clashed, their skills charging their striking speed to match blow for blow. Eventually, the two shadows stopped clashing, and Hood jumped back to dodge Shadow's slash. She dodged the oncoming combo by twisting and backflipping, stopping the combo by jumping on his blades, planting them in the ground, and backflipped, kicking Shadow in the jaw and knocking him down.

While Shadow nursed his jaw, he took a glance at his HP. Thankfully, he didn't lose much HP. And yet… _It was meant to stun_.

Shadow rolled left and dodged Hood's daggers stabbing the ground.

 _This shouldn't be a problem for me. But she's dodging all my attacks. Her AGI is_ nothing _like I've seen before._ Shadow had an idea formed in his head. He got up off of the floor.

He turned and took a deep breath while closing his eyes. _Focus_ , he mentally told himself. Around him, he felt the world go dark, like someone turned off Aincrad's light switch. His senses were sharpened, and he could feel the burning sensation of the sunlight. He could taste the oxygen coming from the trees. He could hear the breath leaving the lips of the person behind him.

Shadow turned left, causing Hood to dodge to the right. Immediately, Shadow turned right and slashed her across the stomach, sending her back.

Hood winced as she hit the floor. How did he hit me? I knew where he was going to attack, so… Despite her pain, she broke into a smile and got back up. Ohhh…He feinted me. Clever. And here I thought this was going to be too easy.

"Nice shot," Hood said with an amused lilt in her voice.

Shadow said nothing as he prepared to rush Hood again. He dashed towards her, and Hood tanked the oncoming punch, pushing forward and smiling. This caught Shadow off guard, as he was unprepared for her (thankfully uncharged) stab.

He gasped in pain as he felt the poison course through him. "Looks like I win," Hood said, smiling as Shadow fell to his knees. Shadow looked towards her and smiled. He stood up and, with a heavy grunt, yanked the knife out of his chest.

Hood's eyes widened at Shadow's action. She was even more surprised when he tossed the knife back to her. She caught it with ease and prepared herself, as the fight was not over, apparently. Shadow dashed to the side, prompting Hood to spin and block his attacks successfully. She pushed forward when clashing blades with him. The two shadows were gritting their teeth in determination as they pushed on each other's weapons. Eventually, Shadow pushed forward with all his might, knocking Hood off guard, which Shadow capitalized on by stabbing her in the leg with near godlike speed.

Hood screamed as the knife dug into her virtual flesh. She fell to the floor, where she took a look at her HP. Damn. Can't continue this fight, or I might die. "Alright," she said, dropping her weapons and smiling. "You win."

 **(The Dance and Song end Here)**

Shadow walked over to Hood and stuck his hand out. She took it and Shadow helped her up. They were both still a bit woozy from the poison that was coursing through their V.R. veins. To stop the nausea, Shadow took out two potions and handed one to Hood. She took it, saying, "How generous of you."

"Shut up," was Shadow's reply before he put the bottle to his lips. Hood smirked at getting somewhat of a reaction out of him before drinking her potion as well.

She picked up her weapons and sat down at the base of the nearest tree. "Well," she said, "I'm listening."

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked before finishing his potion and throwing the bottle away, leaving it to shatter.

"We agreed that if you won, then I'd hear you out and let you go free." She gave an amused smile. "And my name's Bella, by the way," Hood, now officially known as Bella, said.

"Oh, right." Shadow took a deep breath. "Why is there a bounty on my head?"

"Apparently, you killed a guy."

"Where?"

"Rising Waters Hotel."

"Okay. I was at the Rising Waters Hotel because my client was living there at the time. I just completed a mission for him―and before you say anything, it was a bounty hunt."

"Oh, thank God," Bella said in relief.

"Indeed. I met him in his room, and he gave me the payment, along with a bonus."

"And, pray tell, what exactly _was_ the bonus?"

"A chunk of obsidian ore." Bella's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she stood up in surprise.

"WHAT?!" was her only question. "How did your client get such a rare item?!"

This time, Shadow smirked at Bella's reactions. "Forgot to ask. And it's not like I have more. Obsidian is so rare that even I, wearing a pair of gloves that triple all of my profits, could only get one chunk of it. And besides, do you think I would've shared it with my potential assassin?"

"True," Bella said, smiling once more.

"After that, I left. Simple as that." Shadow looked around the forest. "What time is it?"

"It's…" Bella's eyes widened. "Just past noon."

Shadow stood up immediately after hearing that. "Wait, really?! Shit, I got to get to Lindas."

"I'll walk with you," Bella stated. "And I'm not taking no for an answer," she said when Shadow opened his mouth. Together, the two walked through the forest in the direction that Shadow was heading earlier. "Can I ask you something?" Bella asked, looking towards the mercenary, the smile never leaving her face for some reason.

"Shoot."

Bella turned her face to focus on what's in front of her. "You don't kill green players, do you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Then, who _do_ you go for?"

"I imprison the orange players, and I kill the red players."

"That's not something _I_ would normally do."

"I have no qualms about it. And if you're going to ask how I can kill so easily without feeling regret―I lost my humanity a long time ago. And as I told one of my clients: 'If the only way to kill a monster is to become one, then so be it.'"

"That's...an interesting way to see things."

"If that disturbs you, just say so."

"It doesn't disturb me. In fact, the way I see life, if you go red and it falls to _me_ to kill you, then we both made our choices."

After Bella's statement, the two shadows silently let the topic drop. Shadow turned to Bella after some time. "About the murder…"

"Hm?" She turned to face the mercenary.

"What did they find?"

"Let me check." They both stopped as Bella opened her menu to read the details of the murder. "They found a weapon." She smiled in admiration when she pulled up the image. "A really cool-looking dagger."

"What's the name?" Shadow asked, suddenly tense.

"Rakshasa's Claw. B-Class."

"Goddammit!" Shadow said, punching a nearby tree, causing it to fall.

Bella laughed. "What's _your_ deal?"

"I _made_ that weapon! Of course they'd suspect me!"

Bella's smile faltered. She looked down at the details again. "The victim's name is―or rather, _was_ ―Jared."

Just when Shadow had calmed down, Bella dropped that bombshell on him. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "That was my client," he said calmly. "And he's dead."

"Looks like it," Bella said, putting the menu away. There was more silence as they walked.

"Why did you tell me your name?"

"I give my name to those who earn it."

"I'm honored." As Bella laughed again, Shadow looked towards her. "Do you find _everything_ amusing?"

"Pretty much."

"Why?"

"That's just who I am."

The two kept walking along the path. "If I tell you a story, and possibly show you my face, would you do the same?" Shadow asked Bella.

She blinked twice, then smiled. "Of course. Since you're trusting me with a memory and your identity, I'll do the same with you. You first, though."

 **(x)**

 _The two men screamed as they clashed. They both used their fists to do the talking. Where one would strike, another would answer in kind._

" _Why do they want me dead?" the defending player demanded._

" _You're giving people too much hope," the other man responded. Eventually, they broke away and drew their swords. The defending player's eyes widened at the deep black color of his opponent's blade. "Pretty, ain't it?" the sword's wielder chuckled menacingly._

" _Well, you won't get a hit on me!" the other player shouted while charging a sword skill. When his opponent charged his sword skill, he took notice of the unusual black color that it formed. They charged and struck each other's blades with all their force._

 _The first player winced and sent a punch to his opponent's face, stunning him and knocking him back. He charged a sword skill, and screamed as he dashed forward with a forward thrust. When the sound of steel striking V.R. flesh reached his ears, he looked up with a triumphant smirk…_

 _Which immediately turned to horror as he screamed, NO!"_

 _He had stabbed someone else: a woman, and his in-game wife. She swayed in her spot for a bit before she collapsed her forward. Her unfortunate assassin caught her and held her close, sobbing quietly and repeatedly whispering, "I'm sorry."_

 _Despite her intense pain and rapidly decreasing HP, she smiled and raised a hand to lovingly caress her husband's face. "It's okay. No matter what happens, I will_ always _love you."_

" _Same," he said quietly. He was about to take out a healing potion when she put her other hand on his, stopping him. He looked at her in shock as she smiled and closed her eyes, before shattering into crystal shards._

 _The player was stunned, looking at the spot where his wife was, faintly feeling her touch on his face. He stood up and looked at his maliciously laughing opponent, before looking to the sky and screaming as loud as he could. His scream reflected his grief, anger, regret and sorrow. Eventually, he felt something...powerful stir within him. He looked down to face his opponent, tears streaming from his eyes as he never stopped screaming; as a direct result, his eyes had turned into a nightmarish red color. He picked up his sword and dashed in a near-ungodly speed to his opponent._

 _However, he took out a white shard and disappeared in a bright flash, the malicious laugh ringing in the charging player's ears. He didn't stop, dashing towards the spot where his opponent once stood. In his rage, he cut through a tree, letting it fall._

 _When his anger subsided, all of the negative emotions hit him like a freight train. He staggered over to the spot where his love had shattered, both figuratively_ and _literally. His sword lay in his hands, which he stared at for a seemingly endless amount of time. To the outside world, it seemed odd that a man was staring at the sword in his hands blankly. But to him…_

 _He saw his blade, and especially his hands, stained with blood that was too life-like to be considered virtual. Maybe because the blood_ was _real._

 _Very,_ very _real._

 _He snapped out of his trance and shakingly planted the sword a couple inches above where his love's head used to be. When the game instantly marked it as her grave, he collapsed, leaning on the sword as he silently cried in his hands. He was so deep in his sorrows…_

 _He failed to acknowledge the entire guild, who had watched the entire spectacle._

 **(x)**

"..." Bella was silent after hearing Shadow's tale. Finally, she spoke. "Jesus," she stated. "And you deal with that _how_ , exactly?"

"I sleep every other day. It softens the blow of the PTSD."

"Ohhh...kay. Well, my turn, I guess."

 **(x)**

 _Bella smiled from the back of the group, watching Sachi as she took the lead in their tromp through the twenty-seventh floor. The young woman had grown so much in the past few weeks since that night under the bridge. There was a determination burning within her, and while Bella may not have know what exactly changed, she was glad of it. No longer was the blue-haired girl timid and weak; she had slowly but surely started taking on more and more responsibility within the guild, both on the field and off of it, and the change showed._

 _Bella was drawn out of her musings when she heard a sudden call of admiration from Ducker, who was right behind Sachi. As the hooded girl raised her head to see what the fuss was, she noted a tension in Kirito who was just a little ahead of herself, and when she saw the open door leading to an almost empty room with just a single chest, she knew exactly why. Kirito and Bella, as Beaters, had both been up to this floor and beyond already, and traps like these were almost commonplace. Before she could call out a cry of warning, however, Sachi, Ducker, and the other two exclaimed loudly in delight and ran forward without hesitation. With a muttered curse, the hooded girl dove forwards, right behind Kirito._

 _The instant her companion crossed the threshold, a chill ran up Bella's spine, and she knew something was wrong. Before she could wonder what it was, however, a wall snapped down directly in front of her, cutting the girl off from the rest of her guild._

 _No_ _, She thought, her veins turning to ice. Eyes wide, she stepped forward and laid a hand to the wall, unable to believe what she was seeing._ _No no no no no no no no no no no no no…_ _With a yell of frustration, Bella smacked a hand against the wall, ignoring the sharp pain that erupted underneath the skin. This could not be happening._

 _As she struggled to get in, utilizing all the techniques and skills she could think of, Bella was forced to listen as a loud blaring alarm rang throughout the room just beyond her reach, and the chitter of monster appeared. As she worked, shudders ran through her when one, and then another cry of surprise and loss rang through the air, and three voices fell silent. Then, finally, her heart jumped with victory as the door once again slid open, only to dive even deeper into her gut at the horrible scene before her.  
Ducker, Sasamaru, and Tetsuo were nowhere to be seen, and a pang of dread struck Bella's heart for a moment. That was nothing, however, when she saw Sachi, separated from Kirito by far too much space for her warning shout to do any good, was approached from behind by a stone golem. With wide, helpless eyes, she watched as the girl was struck and thrown forward, not a sound escaping from her. The world seemed to slow down, and for a moment, Bella could've sworn that she saw the pale pink lips of the dying girl forming words, even as her turquoise eyes met Bella's own quicksilver ones. A moment later, the girl burst into shards of blue light, and Bella's  
mind blanked._

 _The Beater turned to the horde of monsters, Kirito barely visible among their clustered forms. In what seemed like several long seconds, a heat started to build up within her, and her hands unconsciously went to the two daggers strapped to her thighs. There was no feasible way they could win this. Even two Beaters, who by all rights should have been on far higher levels, wouldn't be able to defeat the sheer number of monsters in this room. But they had killed Sachi. Another soul lost to Kayaba's sick games and twisted ambition. One who had just started to break her way out of the fear and despair that had trapped her. Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker were gone too, innocents, so full of life and light just a few moments before, struck down with cold and brutal efficiency. Now, Kirito, too, was trapped, with no way out and a horde of monsters between him and the door. Kirito, that kindred soul whose light she had followed out of the first floor boss room those long months ago, Taking the hatred and scorn of the entirety of Aincrad in order to protect other Beta Testers.  
_ _  
No._ _The thought rang through her like a bell on a cold winter's day. No. This was not how it was going to end. They had fought through so much, sacrificed so much, and Kayaba had taken enough from them this day._

 _With a silent determination, Bella drew the blades whose pommels her hands were resting on, spinning them up into a ready position. Then, as the heat of pain and anger reached a boiling point in her, she took a step forward. No more. Enough had been lost this day._

 **(x)**

"Damn," was Shadow's only response.

"Yep. And since you confided in me a dark secret, I feel like I can trust you with my face."

"Same here."

"I'll go first." Bella pulled her hood down, and Shadow got a full look at her. Her hair was short and choppy, cut in a pixie-like fashion, and was charcoal gray. Quicksilver eyes met Shadow's under long bangs, and her high cheekbones and wide eyes were reminiscent of European nobility. Overall, she was beautiful, but Shadow figured she didn't want to hear that.

He nodded and said, "Now, it's _my_ turn." Shadow pulled his hood down, and Bella got a full view of what was under the black hood.

After staring closely at Shadow for a few seconds, her face broke out into a smile. "You know, you don't look too bad," Bella said while laughing.

 **(x)**

 _The player glared darkly at his open inbox. He was sitting on his bed, and was hiding out in an inn at the Town of Beginnings. Despite it being midnight outside, he still had his curtains closed and all light sources in his room put out. The only source of illumination was his menu._

" _Congratulations! You have been deemed eligible for a brand-new armor set and weapons!_

 _Armor: The Shadow Set_

 _Weapons:_

 _Sword of Shadows (?-Class) (One-Handed Longsword)_

 _Blades of Silence (?-Class) (Twin Daggers)_

 _ACCEPT_

 _DENY_

― _GM: Kayaba Akihiko"_

 _He found it odd that he got this message right after what happened. Deciding he now had nothing to lose, he pressed "ACCEPT."_

 _Instantly, he felt his world go dark. He couldn't see. Couldn't hear._

 _Couldn't breathe._

 _However, this feeling was replaced with sheer power. Almost like...he could take on 50 Illfangs at once. He chuckled silently at this feeling._

 _Eventually, when the darkness cleared, he looked through the window and winced at the rays of light coming through._

 _He decided to take a look in the mirror to see his new armor. He was surprised by what he saw._

 _He was dressed in all black, with a mask covering the lower half of his face. He looked at his eyes, which had changed to a nightmarish red. And the last time his eyes became that color…_

 _It still hurt to think about her._

 _And yet…_

" _Shadow" chuckled, ignoring all of the negative emotions swirling through him._

 _Guilt._

 _Anger._

 _Regret._

 _Sorrow._

 _These demons are what make up the being known only as "Shadow."_

 **(x)**

 **Elsewhere…**

Everyone cheered as the performer left the stage. She made her way to her dressing room, where she got ready to change. Before she could do so, however, she saw a dark shape from just within her peripheral and mirror. She turned around, asking, "Somebody there?" She got up and investigated the area...only to find nothing. "Must be my imagination," she said while shaking her head. She felt a burst of pain and screamed, however, as a blade found its way through her heart. She looked back shakingly at the dark figure who stabbed her before she fell to the ground and shattered.

 **(x)**

Shadow sighed and stretched as he and Bella walked out of the forest, both with their hoods drawn up. Shadow pointed to the nearby town. "I can see Lindas," he stated.

"I'm not blind," Bella said while smiling. "I can see it, too."

"I know. Just wanted to be the first to say it." Bella laughed in response. The two shadows stopped and turned to each other.

"Well," Bella said, sticking her hand out to Shadow. "Guess this is the part where we say goodbye."

"I guess so," Shadow responded, shaking Bella's hand. He was about to let go when Bella pulled him in close.

"I have my share of demons, and you _definitely_ have yours. It's not healthy to keep your demons to yourself. At some point, you have to let them out; just talk to somebody, _anybody_ , who can keep a secret," she stated in a serious tone.

"But who can I share them with?" Shadow asked softly. "If I tell _anybody_ , there's a high chance they'll find out who I am. And I'm not ready to come out of my shell just yet."

"Are there any people you already told, that are _not_ in any guild, major or otherwise?"

"...Yes. I told Lizbeth in order to get her help. And it's worked out for me."

"There you go," Bella said, smiling once more. "Someone you can trust, is not in a guild, _and_ can keep a secret. If anybody, tell _her_. You'll thank me in the end. And lighten up―not _all_ of humanity is bad. If anything, have some faith in the women and kids."

"I _do_ have faith in women and children. I'm just a lot less fond of the male side of the human race, save for a select few." Shadow gently removed his hand from Bella's and looked up at the early afternoon sun. He smiled and said, "I suppose this is the part where you let me go free."

"Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Shadow looked towards her, still smiling, and said, "I would've said the same for you."

With that, the two shadows walked in opposite directions. If there's any good thing that came out of this encounter, it's this:

Shadow and Bella had gained the trust and friendship of each other.

 **(x)**

"Welcome to Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop!" Liz said cheerfully, exiting the back room of her shop. She removed her gloves and looked towards the new customer, and was excited―and relieved―to see Shadow. "In the back," she said to the mercenary. He nodded and went to the back room, to find Agil sitting on a barrel. After exchanging greetings, Shadow leaned back against the wall opposite Agil.

The two had to wait until closing time, when Liz came into the room with a tray holding three plates full of food. She pulled up two barrels and gently set the tray down. The two men took the hint and moved in close to Liz, taking some food from one of the plate while giving their thanks. "What's this about, Liz?" Shadow asked the blacksmith between bites of his sandwich. It wasn't Skye-quality, but it was close.

"Okay, let's cut the crap," Liz said seriously, placing her hands on the table. "You didn't kill those people, did you?"

"People?"  
"Yeah," Agil said. "While you took your sweet-ass time getting here, someone else died. A performer."

Shadow stood up suddenly, shocking the other two players in the room. "What?! Who was it?!"

"Calm down. From what we've gotten, it wasn't Eros. Just another performer." Shadow relaxed and sit back down. "Her name was Scarlett. And all witnesses heard was a scream before the guards investigated the room."

"What was the weapon used? One of my throwing knives?"

"Are you _sure_ you didn't commit this one?" Liz asked, semi-cautiously, semi-jokingly.

"Jesus Christ, it was one of my throwing knives, wasn't it?"

"Yep." Agil opened up an image of the murder weapon and showed it to the mercenary.

"That's the same one that Solar gave to me on New Year's Eve, among others." Looking at the faces of his acquaintances, Shadow shrugged. "I use gifts that I get."

"Right." Just as that sentence was finished, there was a knocking on the shop door.

"I'll have to get that," Liz said before she got up. When she reached the door of the back room, she looked back over her shoulder. "You should find some place to hide, just in case." As the blacksmith left to answer the door, Agil looked away from the door to see that Shadow had disappeared. The sudden disappearance made Agil shudder.

"I freaking hate it when he does that." Just as he said that, he heard a scream at the door.

"ASUNA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Hey, Liz," the vice-commander of the K.O.B. said calmly despite Liz's outburst. "Is Shadow here?"

"Why would he be here, of all places? Doesn't he have his own tree?"

"Don't you think I would've checked there? And besides, people have been telling me that he went into your shop and hasn't come out yet? Why is that?"

"Asuna, are you… _accusing_ me of being an accomplice to the murders? _Me?!_ "

"No. I'm accusing you of harboring a murderer and a fugitive from justice." Asuna crossed her arms. "Let me in, Liz."

"He's not here. If you want," Liz opened the door fully and gestured for Asuna to come inside, "feel free to check."

"Thank you." Asuna stepped into the shop and went to the back room. Liz started sweating nervously. _I hoped you picked a good hiding spot, Shadow_ , the blacksmith thought as she followed Asuna to the back room.

"Agil?" Asuna asked upon seeing the shopkeep. "What are you doing here?"

"Liz called me over. Wanted to catch up on some business."

"Is that all?"

"Asuna, I'm married in real life."

"Okay, just checking." She was about to ask Liz something else, when something caught her eye. She cautiously approached the barrels and drew her rapier. She pushed the barrels aside and was about to stab…

Nothing. There was nothing there.

Asuna sighed and sheathed her blade. She turned to Liz. "Sorry," she said. "But I thought Shadow was in here."

"If he was here, he'd have already left."

"True. I think I'll try the forest."

"Um, no, you won't." Liz put her hands on her hips as she spoke to Asuna. "It's too dangerous at this time of night."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. I suppose I'll check tomorrow, then."

"You best. Now, didn't you read the sign? It clearly said, 'Closed!' Now, please leave."

"Right." She nodded towards Agil, who nodded back. "I'll be out of your hair now."

Asuna left and the sound of the front door closing was heard to everyone.

"She gone yet?" Liz and Agil both jumped at Shadow's sudden reappearance.

"Jesus Christ, it's _so creepy_ when you do that!" Liz said, rubbing her arms to get rid of the shivers that came from the feeling of fright.

"You see what I mean?!" Agil shouted.

"Sorry. So, should we look over the victims?"

"Yeah, I suppose we should," Liz sighed, the shivers subsiding. She and the two men sat down. "Shadow, does Scarlett ring any bells to you?"

"Yeah," Shadow responded after some thought. "She was another of my clients. She wanted me to clear a dungeon and get the item 'The Boots of War'. After I got the boots, she paid me my usual fees and told me that the boots were my bonus. I'm wearing them right now, and they actually make it easier to maneuver around in rough terrain."

"Okay. So, she was a former client who gave you a bonus. Does Jared fall under that category?"

"Yeah. There are actually a lot of people that gave me a bonus for getting the job done within their expectations."

"Do you know who else falls under that category?"

"..." Shadow was silent as he came to a sudden-and horrifying-realization. "Eros," he said softly, barely heard by the other two in the room.

 **To be continued...**


	15. Chapter 15: The Shadow Killings--Part 3

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 15: The Shadow Killings Part 3: Case Closed**

 **S/N: And here, we have the ending of the Shadow Killings arc! Hope you guys enjoyed this arc. We made this for Friday the 13th.**

 **A/N: Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 **Floor 48: Lindas**

"It wasn't him, Asuna!"

"Why are you defending him? He's a killer!" This is what several onlookers observed as Solar argued with Asuna about Shadow's role in the killings.

"Agil told us that Shadow sold those weapons a while back. And all of a sudden those weapons are used in the murders? That _can't_ be a coincidence!"

"Maybe it is, Solar! Maybe he bought the weapons back and Agil is covering for him!"

"How could you accuse _Agil_ of being an accomplice?!"

"You never know!"

"What's the _real_ reason, Asuna?" Solar crossed his arms across his chest. "Why are you so adamant about catching Shadow? I don't see this kind of thing with Laughing Coffin, and they killed a hell of a lot more people than Shadow ever did."

"My only reason for wanting to bring him in is because he killed innocents!"

"Think about that! So far, Shadow has only killed murderers, and there is no record of him _ever_ targeting an innocent civilian. And the fact that Shadow happened to _walk_ into the places of the murders doesn't seem fishy to you at all?! From what we've seen, and from what Eros told us, Shadow teleports using a special crystal he got from Nightshade!"

"Again, why the _hell_ are you so adamant on seeing him walk free?!"

"Because he's doing a hell of a lot more than what the front lines could ever do in terms of clearing this game!"

"Bullshit. There has to be another reason!"

"There isn't, so deal with it!"

Asuna was silent for a moment, with a look of rage contorting her face. Finally, she said, "How would you have felt it it was Akira who was next? And the weapon used to kill her was a weapon that Shadow used?"

"Don't you _dare_ bring her into this!"

"Answer the question."

"I wouldn't have to feel that way, because I'm going to _be there_ for her, unlike you with Kirito!"

Silence reigned for a minute. Asuna looked down, shadows covering her eyes. "That was uncalled for, and you know it."

Solar looked away in partial shame. "I'm not proud of what I said, but I stand by it." He turned to face Asuna fully. "The Tri-Blade Alliance will help you locate Shadow, but we will _not_ engage him." He turned around left, waving behind him. "Later, Su-Su."

 **(x)**

 **Floor 35: Castle**

"Thank you for your service, Shadow," his client said cheerfully.

"No problem," Shadow curtly replied back. He brought out his Black Star and prepared to leave when he remembered something. "You might want to be careful, with all these killings."

"I'll keep that in mind, Shadow. I know it wasn't you."

"Yeah. It's not my M.O." With that, the mercenary left.

The client sighed in relief when the mercenary left. Truth be told, he was honestly terrified during his entire meeting with Shadow, and not just because of his appearance. Shadow was right. He had to be careful with all the killings going on. He turned to head back to his room when he heard something behind him. The client turned only to be met with a knife to his chest. "Scream. As loud as you can. Make a scene," the mystery man demanded.

So he did.

And before he died, he discerned one thing about that voice.

It wasn't Shadow's.

 **(x)**

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" Skye groaned. "Another one?!"

"It seems so, ma'am," the Tri-Blader respectfully told Skye.

"He's innocent, Skye. I know it," Kirito told her. The two were investigating the most recent murder. The weapon in question was a throwing knife, last used by Shadow. "I don't know about you, Skye, but this is looking more and more like someone is trying to _frame_ Shadow."

"Who would, though? Laughing Coffin?"

"That's a good start."

"...Hey, have you heard about that little blowout that Solar and Asuna had?"

"Yeah. From what I heard, it was brutal."

"Ma'am." The two conversing players turned around to see the Tri-Blader that Skye had talked to earlier. "We have reports of another murder."

"When did this happen?!"

"A couple of minutes ago. Solar and Asuna are at the scene now."

 **(x)**

 **Floor 35: Cicada**

"Still believe that Shadow's innocent, Solar?" Asuna sarcastically asked the leader.

Solar sighed in annoyance. "As a matter of fact, I do. Besides, the real killer fucked up."

"How so?" Now Asuna was genuinely curious.

Solar showed her a dagger. Asuna grabbed it and opened up her appraisal menu. She went down to the 'Last Used' section, and gasped when she saw something. "It says here that the last known user is someone named 'Ghost'."

"Yeah. Meaning _not_ Shadow."

"So, you said he was being framed. This proves it. And…"

"Don't apologize to me. If we find Shadow, apologize to him. And if anything, _I'm_ sorry about what I said at the square."

"Don't worry about it."

"Solar!"

"Asuna!"

The two commanders looked to see their comrades run up to them. "What is it, Skye?" Solar asked.

"There's a possibility that Shadow's being framed."

"We just came to that before you got here," Asuna said.

"There's more," Kirito said instead of Skye. "We also have reason to believe that Laughing Coffin is framing him. I mean, they tried it before on New Year's."

"But if that failed, then they won't try a second time," Solar said while in thought. Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts when Solar received a message. He looked towards the three, who nodded, giving him the signal to open it. He opened it to see that it was from Shadow. When he opened it, Shadow's dark voice was heard to everyone.

" _Solar. I know Skye, Kirito, and Asuna are there. I also know about the killings. Three out of four of you know I didn't do those murders._

 _I have reason to believe that the next target is Eros. She sent me a message saying she was alright, but I don't want to take any chances. Meet me at her hotel. I'm positive you know where that is._

" _Another thing―I found out the link between each victim so far. Each of them were my clients, and they all gave me a bonus when I completed their missions. Eros falls into that category._

" _Get there, fast. I'll be heading there, too."_

 **(x)**

 **Floor 47: Terra**

Eros sighed as she sat down on the couch in her suite. She changed back into her normal outfit after a long day of performances, and she was beat. Earlier, she got a message from Shadow asking her if she was alright. He was adamant about making sure she was alright, so she invited him over. She had already set up some food and drinks for when he got here. She leaned back, and closed her eyes.

She opened them again when she heard a knock on the door. She looked towards the door in surprise. _That was fast, even for him._ She opened the door a little and looked through to see who it was. It certainly _looked_ like Shadow, but she couldn't be too sure. "Who is it?"

"Open the door," the mystery man growled. Eros' eyes widened. Not Shadow. _Definitely_ not Shadow.

"Sorry, but I don't open doors for strangers."

"I wasn't asking." Suddenly, the killer attempted to force the door open, but was being held back behind the door when Eros, in a surprising display of strength, pushed back.

This proved to have no effect, as the killer's strength seemingly doubled, and the door was forced open. Eros drew her sword and got ready for if the killer would attack her. Surely, he did. But what put Eros off her guard was the second person entering after. _TWO KILLERS?!_

She tried to fight back, but she was overpowered. One of the killers pulled out a white sword that seemed to be a complete palette swap of Shadow's sword.

Eros struggled, but did not scream. She struggled even more when she saw the sword coming down. She closed her eyes as it did, but she opened them again when she heard another sword clash with the killers'.

 **(x)**

 **2 Minutes Earlier...**

Shadow teleported outside the hotel. He put away his crystal, but not his sword as he needed to stay on guard. He was about to enter when he heard a noise in the upper levels of the hotel. Fearing the worst, he jumped up into an open window on the third floor. His eyes narrowed when he saw Eros being held down by one person, and about to be decapitated by another.

 _Not on my watch_ , the mercenary thought as he jumped in and dashed forward with his sword out. He blocked the incoming strike that surely would have killed Eros. He knocked the down the wielder and dodged the incoming punch from the other player. He grabbed the attacking player and brought him in for a head-butt. While the killer was stunned, he kicked him down. While they were down, he stabbed them with his knives, effectively paralyzing them.

After Shadow took down the killers, he went over to Eros' side. "Are you okay?"

Eros nodded, still shaken by the whole ordeal. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The two were sitting still, waiting for the others to arrive. During that time, Shadow told Eros, "It's just us. If you want to cry, do it now. I'll understand if you do."

"I'm fine." Shadow waited for a second. "I'm not fine."

"Just use the shoulder." After he said that, Eros leaned into his shoulder and cried.

He rubbed her back gently and whispered, "I understand. Just let it all out." When Eros stopped crying, Shadow asked her, "You want to know something?"

"What?" Eros asked, wiping away the tears.

"I was scared. Scared that I was too late, and I lost another person I cared about. And that's happened too many times―for me and for everyone in this game."

"So you care, then?"  
"For women and children, at least."

"That's fair, I guess." Eros sat up straight and looked at her hands in her lap. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Let me train you."

"...What?" Eros asked as she looked back to Shadow.

"Every Friday, at the tree where you would normally find me, whatever time is fine. Meet me there, and I'll teach you how to fight _better_ with a sword."

"O-Okay." Eros smiled and said, "I use a shortsword, by the way."

"Still a sword."

"I guess. Smartass." Eros looked back at Shadow, who was lost in thought. "What'cha thinkin' about now?"

"About how I'm going teach you how to use a real sword."

"You mean it?!"

"Yep. Broadsword or Longsword?"

"Longsword."

"I would've been fine either way, honestly. And if you want to start using a longsword―"he paused to pick up the late F. Shadow's sword and held it out to her―"This is a good start."

Eros smiled gratefully and took the sword. When it appeared in place of her shortsword, Solar, Asuna, Skye, and Kirito ran in the room. When the two looked up at them, Shadow motioned to the paralyzed bodies and said, "They were about to kill her when I came in."

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Solar asked Eros in concern.

Eros nodded. "I'm fine now." She looked towards Shadow. "I'm just lucky I'm on his okay list."

When Solar, Skye and Kirito went to bring in the two killers, Asuna stood at the doorway, thinking of something to say. Finally, she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry," she said, "for accusing you of committing the murders."

"It's all right. And I get it―everything looked convincing to you and everyone on the front lines."

"Okay," Asuna said, relieved she didn't make it on Shadow's shit list. "Speaking of, are you _ever_ going to join the front lines?"

"I'm doing fine on my own, so not anytime soon." Asuna nodded, finding his response satisfactory. When she turned to leave the door, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Shadow. "If you're still even a little bit suspicious of me, then talk to Heathcliff about it."

"Right," Asuna said, nodding. Eventually, after she left, Shadow turned to Eros.

"This one's on me," he said.

Eros smiled and replied, "I wasn't gonna pay you anyway."

"Next time, I'll just leave you."

"You don't mean that."

 **(x)**

Lizbeth just finished closing her shop when, without looking behind her, said, "You're the _only_ person to ever visit me after hours." She turned to face her friend, the mercenary.

"I know," Shadow said. "But this time, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"About what?" Shadow sighed and motioned to the back room. Knowing no harm will come to her, she opened the door and pulled up a barrel to sit on. "I'm listening."

And so, Shadow talked. And talked. And talked. Throughout this, he expressed his sorrows, regrets, guilt, and hopes. And through it all, Liz gave her undivided attention towards him. She cried at the emotional parts, and nodded in understanding and sympathy at the rest.

When Shadow finished talking, Liz reached out and put a hand on his. "Feel better?" she asked soothingly.

"Honestly? Yeah. A lot. Guess I really needed to talk to somebody. Thanks for listening, Liz."

"No problem, buddy."

Shadow smiled at her and looked to the door. "I'll see myself out."

"No, let me," Liz said, opening the door. When Shadow walked through, Liz asked, "Do you have any siblings?"

Shadow looked back and answered, "Two. One older and one younger."

"Give them my regards when we get out of here."

"Won't have to. You'll be there, along with everyone else."

Liz smiled. "Thank you for choosing Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop! Tell all your friends!" she said, giving a closed-eye smile and a two-finger salute.

 **(x)**

Shadow let out a heavy breath as he sat down on the bed of the room he's staying in. Now that his name was cleared, he could go into a town without any worries. He performed his usual round of going through his items, marking the ones he wanted to keep and the ones he would sell to Agil tomorrow.

When he finished, he was about to close his menu, when something in the back of his head told him to go to the main menu. He decided to humor the idea and went to the main menu.

He was beyond shocked to see the 'Logout' option present on his screen. To convince himself he wasn't hallucinating, he closed and opened his menu again.

 _It's still there!_

He actually had the ''Logout' option! Seeing nothing better to do, he pressed the option.

' _Would you like to Log out?'_

' _YES'_

' _NO'_

Shadow was about to press ' _YES_ ' when he realized:

 _If I log out…_ He looked outside the window. _Then everyone else would still be stuck in SAO. That shouldn't be my problem, but…_

He looked back to his menu. He imagined the faces of his family in the real world, waiting, hoping, and praying he would return to them soon.

Then he imagined the faces of Solar…

Kirito…

Asuna…

Liz and Agil…

Bella…

Eros…

Skye…

The thousands of players in SAO...

And the weak and helpless players―no, _victims_ ―of Sword Art Online. And how they're stuck here. Because of _him_.

Because of Kayaba.

So, did he _really_ want to log out?

After sitting there and thinking for a long time, he finally came to his decision.

"No," he said out loud in the empty room. "I made a promise―that I would help everyone leave SAO, through any means. And if I choose yes, then I'll be _literally_ taking the easy way out.

"And I won't be able to live with myself if I'm the only one who gets out of the game, especially when everyone still needs me." Shadow ultimately moved his finger and pressed, _'NO.'_ Immediately after he pressed the option, his menu automatically closed. He opened it again…

To find the 'Logout' option was gone once more.

 **A/N: What an ending! To find out a man who cares for himself said no to logging out for the sake of others makes you happy to know how even the most solitary of players can change.**

 **I also want to give a shout-out and a HUGE thanks to ericwinter for letting me use his SAO OC, Bella, in this arc. If you haven't done so already, go check out his story "The Silver Shadow." It's a really good story that's still in the making. And reading it was what inspired me to ask him to use Bella in The Dance in the Shadows.**

 **S/N: And as always, Read and Review!**


	16. Chapter 16: Nail in the Laughing Coffin

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 16: The Nail in the Laughing Coffin**

 **A/N: Alright, everybody. Here is another chapter of "The Tri-Blade Alliance" up!**

 **Also, I got a review from one of you, remarking on how even though I said, "Escape with as little casualties as possible," yet the Moonlit Black Cats and one of my OC's still died. I want to let everyone know: In a war, the most one can do is minimize the number of casualties on their side; that applies here as well, and I still have to keep** _ **some**_ **things canon. And that OC died for a reason, one you will find out if you keep watching out for new installments for this story.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own SAO!**

 **(x)**

" _Hey, Shadow. It's Solar. We need you to come down to the prison; we're interrogating the ones behind the Shadow Killings last week. Although, they refuse to talk to anyone other than_ you _. Hence, the reason for this message. Come down when you can. Thanks."_

 **(x)**

 **April 17, 2024**

 **Floor 1: Aincrad Prison**

Shadow jumped down from his tree and walked towards the direction of the prison. When he walked through the door, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him. "Which room?" he asked the crowd. Simultaneously, they all pointed to the hallway on the left. He walked in said direction to a room where Solar and everyone else were waiting for him.

"Finally," Asuna stated upon seeing him enter the room. Everyone stood up to let him pass.

"They won't talk to anybody other than you," Kirito informed the mercenary as he stopped to open the door that led to the killers' cell.

"I know," Shadow responded before looking back to the crowd. "I'm talking to them alone."

"Alright," Solar said, holding his hands up.

Shadow opened the cell door. He got a good look at the killers.

They were young, no older than 13 or 14. They also looked like exact copies of each other. With the cloaks of their hoods down, Shadow noted that while their physical appearance is the same, their color scheme is anything but; both kids had the same hair, but one had black hair while the other had white hair, and their eyes were the same shade of red.

"I'll keep this short," Shadow said, sitting down in front of the two kids. They looked up at him. "I gotta say, I'm impressed. Not only did you manage to take the weapons I last used, but you also managed to copy my appearance and methods in nearly every way. I'd be proud…" The two kids looked at each other excitedly. "... _If_ you hadn't chosen to kill green players." The harsh tone in Shadow's voice immediately burst the bubble between the boys, causing them to look down in shame. "I would have been okay with you killing orange players under my name. But killing green players, let alone in _my_ name— _that's_ where I draw the line." Before he could continue any further, he saw the nearly shattered look in their eyes, and he couldn't bring himself to say his next line.

 _They're just kids. They didn't know any better. They thought they were doing the right thing._

"However," he continued, "I can see that you didn't know what you were doing was wrong. You're kids, both of you. And I suppose I can let it slide…"

"Thank you, Mr. Shadow!" the kids both said.

"...If you promise me you won't ever do anything like this again. Regardless if you knew, what you did was bad, but can be forgivable because you're still young."

"We promise!" one kid said.

"On our lives!" the other said.

"Good. What are your names?"

"I'm Ghost," the white-clad kid said.

"And I'm Rider," the black-clad one said.

"I feel like there's a joke in there somewhere. Consider this your second chance at life. Your fate fell in my hands, and this isn't something I would normally do. I'll see to it that you leave with a _very_ hard slap on the wrist.

"Now, I ask you: Now that you know what you did was bad, how do you feel?"

"...Guilty," they simultaneously said, looking down in shame.

"Good. Feeling guilt is normal."

"Do you feel guilt, Mr. Shadow?" Rider asked.

"No. That's why it's normal. Now, after you leave, see me outside."

After saying that, Shadow left the cell. When he exited the door that led to the main room, Solar asked, "Well?"

"Let them go free."

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.

After Shadow recovered from the recoil from the shout, he said, "Haven't you looked at them? They're just kids—kids who didn't know better; kids who thought they were doing something right; kids who most likely came to this game alone, and had no one to help establish their sense of right and wrong.

"I talked to them, and judging by their body language when I entered the room, they look up to me, but they were terrified of me; they were terrified because their lives were in my hands. This doesn't make it to the news in any way, shape, or form."

With that, Shadow walked past everyone and left the prison.

 **(x)**

"You made it," Shadow said. He was outside, leaning on a tree outside the prison's area. Ghost and Rider were standing just inside Shadow's peripheral vision. He turned to them. "Come here," he told the kids. Once they came close, he opened his inventory, and transferred two swords to the kids. "Broadswords," he told them. "A set meant for two people. And since I don't have a partner, these are of no use to me."

Ghost and Rider took the swords out of their inventories, and gasped in awe of their appearances.

The swords were the same in every way: both blades had a silver hilt with a bat wing motif, and double-edged blades. The only differences were the color, as one sword had a black bat wing motif and a bone white blade, while the other had white bat wings and a black blade.

"Saint/Sinner," Shadow told them. "Use them well." He opened his map to show them good hunting spots. "These places are the best for hunting. In a week, you can get to Level 75."

"Thank you!" Ghost said gratefully.

"Not to be rude, sir," Rider said uneasily, "but why are you doing this? We killed civilians."

"You're still young. You have your lives ahead of you, and you deserve a second chance, because you truly felt guilt. If you were any different, then I would have told them to kill you.

"And who knows?" Shadow pulled his scarf down so that they could see his smile. "One day, I might need your help. And I want you to be ready for that scenario." The two boys looked at each other excitedly. "And change your appearance. Wear something lighter, like blue and red."

"We won't let you down, Mr. Shadow!" When the kids ran off, Shadow pulled his scarf back up, and turned to see Kirito and Asuna.

"What do you want?" Shadow asked.

"Looking back," Kirito said, "we get now why you let them go."

"Not everyone deserves to die," Asuna put in her two bits, "and those kids are living proof of that."

"They'll get stronger. They look up to me, which I didn't ask for, but it makes for some nice motivation," Shadow said, crossing his arms and looking in the direction where Ghost and Rider ran off.

"I guess it does," Kirito said, smiling and walking so he could stand next to Shadow. "You _are_ doing the most out of all of us, anyway."

"Who _wouldn't_ want to be you?" Asuna asked.

"You two," Shadow answered. "Solar. Skye. Eros. Akira. Literally all of the K.O.B. and the Tri-Blade Alliance. Dare I go on?"

"Okay, smartass," Asuna said while smiling.

Shadow smirked. "I'll see you later, then," Shadow said, walking away. He was stopped, however, when Kirito grabbed his coat sleeve.

When the mercenary turned back, Kirito asked, "You all right? You haven't been the same since the Shadow Killings."

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. You just seem...nicer than usual."

"That's because I know what I'm fighting for now."

"And what's that?" Asuna asked, a hand on her hip. Shadow sighed and took out his Black Star. This action confused Kirito and Asuna, until Shadow held his hand out to them. Then they realized: he wanted to show them something.

Cautiously, Kirito placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder, while Asuna took the hand Kirito offered her. "Close your eyes," he warned his two companions(?).

As soon as they closed their eyes, they felt a rush and their world went dark. Light was restored not even a second later, and they both opened their eyes and staggered a bit once they let go of the mercenary.

"Oh my god, that was a rush," Kirito said.

"You get used to it," Shadow replied, walking forward.

"Doubt it," Asuna replied, before looking around her. "Where are we?"

They had teleported to a field. The field itself was barren, like a desert, but there was no harsh sunlight to accompany said landscape; instead, the sun was covered by clouds, giving the already dark landscape an even more ominous feel **(A/N: Think the landscape in the beginning of the second opening in Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, without the blade works)**. In the center of the landscape they were in was a rock, and around them were a circle of swords; 12 swords, to be exact, in positions akin to a clock. "Shadow?" Asuna asked, slightly panicking. "Where are we?" While Kirito went to comfort Asuna, Shadow spoke.

"A Hero's End," Shadow replied. "The twelve swords are graves, and a barrier was set so that nobody can get to this place by teleporting with a normal crystal or by walking through the gaps in the swords; it's not marked on your map like a normal location. You have to have a special crystal-like my Black Star-to get through to the middle."

"Whose graves _are_ these?" Kirito asked, shocked. Shadow spoke, but not with a direct answer.

"'Hey, Shadow. Before you joined our family, we all agreed to live and die together. And if one of us dies, then we would take our own lives, because we're all a family IRL. And we all agreed that our graves would be around a flat rock past a field in Floor 17.'" While he was talking, Shadow walked over to the blade on the northern side of the rock: a long, jagged blade. "'First, it'd be me, Zeus.'" He walked over to the next weapon, a black trident. "'Then Neptune; the quarter mark would be Hera; then Mars; Hermes; our youngest sister Minerva marked the halfway point; then Apollo; and his twin sister Diana; Aphrodite marked the three-quarters point. Then her husband, and our brother-in-law, Vulcan. And the circle ends with Dionysus.'" While listing the names of the fallen, Shadow walked over to the remaining weapons: a short sword; a giant, two-handed axe; a dagger; a spear; two bows, one gold, one silver; another short sword, but with a shield lying next to it in perfect condition; a hammer with a spear tip; and ending at a broadsword.

When Shadow finished talking, he looked back to see Asuna looking down, tears streaming down her face as she was wracked with silent sobs, and Kirito not much better off, although he wasn't crying like Asuna. Instead, and it did not go unnoticed by the mercenary, he was squeezing Asuna's hand in his own.

" _I_ had to plant their weapons in the ground. _I_ was the sole survivor of a field boss that we couldn't prepare for."

Asuna wiped her tears away, and then looked up at Shadow, despite the new ones welling in her eyes. "Who was the boss?" she asked in a tone that matched her current emotions.

"The God of War."

"We were planning on taking on that boss," Kirito said, looking down. "Until I convinced them otherwise."

"Kirito, are you referring to…?"

"Yeah. The Moonlit Black Cats. And like you, I was the only survivor."

"It was best you didn't. They would have died at their levels back then."

"Yeah. Which is why I didn't."

Shadow turned back to the "graves". "Before they died, I made a promise to them: That I would do everything in my power to get everyone out of SAO, even at the cost of my life. And just last week, after the Shadow Killings, I was given a brutal reminder of that promise."

"What did _you_ do?" Asuna asked, the tears gone, but not the broken tone.

"I killed the boss myself. And once I did, I tried to heal them, but I didn't have enough-neither items nor time. But even then, Zeus stopped me. He told me what I told you, and in the end, he died with a smile on his face.

"Because I was the sole survivor, I not only had to oblige his last wish to die with his family; I also had to personally escort each and every one of them to where they all went."

"Oh my god," Kirito and Asuna both said in shock.

"Yeah. And when I'm not in my tree, I'm here, sitting on this rock. And I come here every chance I get, because it's a reminder. Of the promise I made."

"...It's like Greek mythology," Kirito said, coming to a somber realization. "Zeus and his family were like the 12 Olympians, but they alternated between the Greek and Roman forms, and when you said you 'escorted' them, you were like Hades. Or Pluto, following the pattern."

Shadow scoffed as he sat down on the rock. "Does it matter which aspect I am? My role was the same either way: I was the Shadowrider, and I escorted my 'family' into the Underworld.

"Now you know why I seemed different after last week's incident. I was reminded of this promise, and I don't regret any decisions I've made since then."

Kirito and Asuna dried their tears and nodded in respect and sympathy. "Can you get us out of here?" Asuna asked.

"Sure. Gather around."

 **(x)**

"You wanted to talk?" Bella asked the mercenary.

They were at Shadow's tree, both sitting down at the lowest branch. "Yeah," the mercenary replied.

"About what?"

"Something that happened last week."

"Um, we all know what happened last week," Bella said with her trademark smile and laugh.

" _After_ that. I was going through my items, marking off which ones I was going to sell to Agil. Once I had done so, I was about to close my menu until something in the back of my head told me to check out the space where the 'Logout' option was supposed to be."

"And?"

"...It was there."

"What was?" Bella asked, curious now.

"The 'Logout' option."

Bella froze, her features impossible to read. "Are you certain?"

"You heard me. It was there. I was about to press yes, too. Until…"

"Until what?"

"Until I thought of everyone who needed me. Of you. Eros. Skye. Solar. And the people who already accepted the possibility that they're stuck here forever. And of the promise I made."

Bella was silent as she contemplated her next line. "Who?" she asked the mercenary.

"...A group of mercenaries."

"Why don't you ever say 'mercs'?"

"I cannot disrespect my people by shortening the proper term to address them. Also, it would actually pain me to say 'merc.' Ow."

Bella laughed. "Right. And what was the group's name?"

"The Olympians."

"Of course you'd join a group with a name like _that_."

"Don't knock it till you try it. And besides, I inadvertently caused their deaths."

"How? What did _you_ do that caused their deaths?"

"I neglected to stock up on at least 12 healing items. And before you ask, there were 12 of them; I made thirteen."

"Ah." Bella nodded. "How?"

"The God of War."

"Ooh, damn."

"Yep. And they had a rule where if one of them died, then they all die, because not only were they a family in game, they were an actual family IRL."

"Well, how do you feel now?"

"Better. Because I knew what I was doing. And I would only change that decision if anyone were to come to harm because of it."

Bella nodded. "A noble statement. And if we're getting stuff out here: am I your verbal outlet for all your problems?"

"Essentially."

"At least you're honest."

"Didn't we already establish that?"

Before Bella could answer, Shadow got a message. When he opened it, he was surprised, to say the least, when the ALF general's voice came out in a frantic tone.

" _Shadow! Come quick! There's been a murder in the prison. It was one of the LC members you brought in."_

Bella looked towards Shadow, who was already taking out his Star. "I do enjoy our chats," she told the ready-to-leave mercenary.

"Me too," Shadow replied. "Talk to you later, Bella."

Bella nodded and jumped down to the ground as Shadow warped away without a trace or sound.

 **(x)**

"I came here as soon as I could," Shadow told the general. "Who was it?"

"Bloodborne."

Shadow ran to the LC member's cell and slammed the door open. Sure enough, Bloodborne's body was nowhere to be seen, a hooded figure was crouched on the open windowsill. The figure looked back towards the mercenary and smiled. Shadow's blood boiled when he recognized the malicious smile. "GET BACK HERE!" he all but screamed as the figure jumped down to the ground outside. Shadow followed suit, landing in a roll, and chasing without breaking his stride as the figure started to run. Shadow chased after him, eventually cutting him off by teleporting ahead, causing the retreating player to stop.

The player chuckled. "Took you long enough," he said with a smile.

"Jeffrey," Shadow growled.

"Shadow. How long has it been?"

"Four months, give or take a couple weeks."

"Too long then."

"Why did you kill Bloodborne?"

"He agreed to it. To send you a message."

"And that is?"

The leader of Laughing Coffin smiled. "You and me. We fight. Tomorrow at dusk. Floor 52: Apokolips. The safehouse."

"How do I know you won't use the weapons there?"

"I'll have an area set up for us with the weapons being out of reach, but still in the safehouse. I may lead a guild of murderers, but there is honor among thieves, Shadow."

"I'll be there."

Jeffrey smiled. "Great! Remember: we'll both be using the weapons on our backs. And only _one_ of us leaves alive."

After he said that, Shadow curtly nodded and teleported away.

 **(x)**

After informing the general and Bella of what Jeffrey told him, Shadow went to Liz to get his weapons repaired and to tell her as well.

"You know you can't trust him," Liz told Shadow while she was working.

"I know," Shadow sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But this could be my chance, Liz. To take down Laughing Coffin for good."

"I know, but I'm worried for you. What if I'm right, and he goes against his end on the deal?"

"I'll deal with it. After all, the best blacksmith in the Liz is helping me." Liz blushed and kept working, eventually finishing up repairing Shadow's weapons.

"Done!" Liz smiled, wiping away the VR sweat from her brow. She handed Shadow's weapons back to him and asked him, "Anything else?"

"Actually, yes. Can you make me a new weapon?"

"Finally replacing the longsword?"

"It's not for me. And I want it made from this." He took out his obsidian ore and placed it on the table in front of her.

Liz's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Shadow," she sighed, "but I'm gonna have to charge you."

"Not a problem. Can you make a longsword out if this?"

"Can you come back tomorrow?"

"I'm also paying now."

"1.3 million Col."

"Wow. I'm worth more than obsidian," Shadow remarked as he paid Liz in full.

"Really? And here I thought you were priceless."

"Bite me." Liz smiled and waved goodbye to Shadow as he left, responding in kind.

 **(x)**

 **April 18, 2024**

 **Floor 52: Apokolips**

Shadow teleported outside the safe house the next day at dusk. He entered the safehouse to find Jeffrey standing in the center. He turned to face the mercenary and smiled while spreading his arms wide. "You actually came!" he laughed.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Well," he said to the LC members in the room. "Remember what I told you: leave us."

When all of the members left, Jeffrey stopped one if them and whispered something to him. The member nodded and left. Jeffrey turned to Shadow, completely oblivious to the fact that the mercenary heard everything.

They unsheathed their weapons: Shadow using his longsword, and Jeffrey using a lance that looked like Guilty Thorn, but the "thorns" were absent, replace with serrated edges on both sides.

"My offer still stands, you know. Join Laughing Coffin, and we can avoid this."

Shadow scoffed, twirled his blade and let it rest on his shoulders. "Not interested," he responded.

The two players charged each other with their weapons charging sword skills. They clashed, and Shadow warped behind Jeffrey, hitting him with an uncharged slash. Jeffrey stumbled forward and turned to see Shadow warp. He charged a sword skill and spun around while sticking his lance out, striking the mercenary when he reappeared.

Shadow winced when the serrated blade cut into him. He caught himself before he hit the ground, and warped in front of Jeffrey, striking him with the hilt of his blade. When Jeffrey was stunned, Shadow equipped his knives and charged them, driving them into the leader's chest.

Jeffrey screamed, but was slashed by Shadow. The last thing he heard his assassin say before his head was cut off was: "Ha...Ha...Ha…"

Shadow watched with cold eyes as Jeffrey's headless body shattered. He got a message, saying he received an ultra rare drop: 'Silver Skull Ring.' _The Laughing Coffin's symbol of leadership. Another murder-guild symbol to add to the collection._ Shadow looked around, taking not of all of the weapons in the safehouse. _Time to clear out this place._

Once Shadow had put every weapon in his inventory, he was about to teleport, when he remembered something.

" _When the fight's over,_ " Jeffrey had told the member, " _the signal is three knocks like this,_ " he finished, knocking in an even tempo.

Shadow walked to the door, knocked three times, and teleported.

 **(x)**

 **Aincrad Prison**

Everyone was waiting apprehensively. Shadow hasn't reported back yet, and everyone was nervous—nervous that he failed.

However, everyone let loose the breaths they were holding in when the door opened and the mercenary walked in.

His HP was in the red. He wasn't at 1 HP, but it was still below the halfway mark. He walked up to the desk the general was sitting at, and unequipped an item. He held his hand up, and a silver skull ring that was on his ring finger disappeared. He held his right hand out, and the ring appeared in his palm. "He's dead," the mercenary stated while placing the ring on the desk. He stood up straight. "I killed him," Shadow finished.

The general stood up, smiling widely. "Thank you, Shadow. Once again, the front lines are in your debt."

"Don't mention it," Shadow simply replied. He picked up the ring and placed it in his inventory. "It's what I do."

"Regardless." The general held his hand out to the mercenary, who just looked at it. Everyone had already expected Shadow to do nothing, and weren't surprised to see the general slowly retract his hand.

What nobody was expecting, however, was Shadow reaching out and shaking the general's hand. "Anytime," the mercenary said over the uproarious cheers of the crowd.

 **(x)**

 **May 4, 2024**

Shadow was sitting on the rock at A Hero's End. He breathed deeply to try to calm himself. _Finally. Some peace of mind._

After some time, he received a message from Eros. " _Are you available for a lesson?_ "

" _Yeah. My tree._ "

Shadow stood up and teleported to his tree, where he climbed up to the tallest tree branch. He didn't even get a minute's rest before he heard two sets of feet approach his tree from different directions. "Shadow!" the two voices of Kirito and Bella overlapped. "I need to ask you something!"

"Before you say anything else," the mercenary replied, "look in front of you."

"What? Why?" The Black Swordsman and the Silver Shadow followed Shadow's instructions, both adopting shocked expressions after finally noticing the other.

"KIRITO?!"

"BELLA?!"

The two rushed and enveloped each other in a tight hug. "I thought you died!" Kirito said while laughing in joy.

"Me? I thought _you_ died! When everyone else did, I…" By this point, Bella had broken the hug and placed her hands on Kirito's shoulders.

"I'm just glad you're alive. I haven't seen you since the Moonlit Black Cats died." Kirito looked down. "I couldn't lose someone else."

Bella smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it. And look how far you got without me."

"Yeah, but it wasn't the same."

"Hey," the mercenary said from above them. They looked up. "If I wasn't mistaken, you had something to ask me."

"Oh, yeah!" Bella broke away from Kirito. "Everybody's saying you took down Laughing Coffin. That true?"

"Yep. Is that all?"

Bella looked towards Kirito, then back to Shadow. "I was only confirming, so yes, but I'll stay, if only to catch up with Kirito."

Kirito looked to Shadow. "I wanted to ask you something."

"If it's anything about joining the front lines, I already told Asuna my answer."

"I see. But―"

"I've given it some thought as of late."

"Oh?"

"And I decided: I'm joining the front lines."

"W-wait," Kirito said in shock. "Really?!"

"Yeah. But if you know me, there's a catch."

"And that is?"

"I work on my own agenda; I fight when I'm _needed_ , not required to; I'm a mercenary first, bounty hunter second, assassin third, and front line fighter fourth, so you know my usual price; and everyone on the front lines should respect my privacy, at least."

"Honestly? That is more than a fair price for your joining the front lines."

"Glad we're on the same page. Now, what were you saying?"

"Huh? Oh, right. We need you for the floor boss."

"Which one?"

Kirito nervously adjusted the collar of his coat before he spoke, which prompted a raised eyebrow from Shadow. "Floor 67," Kirito replied.

Shadow nodded. "I'll meet you there. Now then…" He jumped down and put one hand on one of Kirito's shoulder and the other on Bella's shoulder. "Please leave. I'm training someone in two minutes, and you'll just serve to be a distraction. Catch up somewhere else."

When the mercenary removed his hands from their shoulders, Kirito looked towards Bella and smiled. "I know a good restaurant."

"Your treat."

"Isn't it always?" As soon as Kirito and Bella left, still chatting with each other, Eros walked down the short hill leading to Shadow's tree.

"Hey," the two said to each other. Shadow drew his longsword, as did Eros, and pointed his blade at her. "The lesson starts now!"

Eros smirked, and the two players charged each other, not quitting until the other does.

 **A/N: If any of you get the reference I made before the Shadow/Jeffrey fight, let me know and kudos if you get it right. Also, the Olympians aren't really OCs if they were created for only one purpose.**

 **S/N: Also, the idea of Floor 67 being a deadly boss floor, if not** _ **the**_ **deadliest: that was an idea we drew inspiration from TheSib about. Stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **A/N: And as always, Read and Review!**


	17. Chapter 17: Floor 67

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 17: Floor 67**

 **A/N: Alright, everyone. This chapter is the Floor 67 boss fight, with the aftermath. The idea that this floor boss is the deadliest was inspired by TheSib, and I also made some edits to Chapters 7 and 16.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: Sally sacked a satchel and sucked a son of a bitch, who said that sex was sweet! (Let me know in the reviews if you get that reference.)**

 **A/N: 9 more times!**

 **(x)**

Eros grunted as she took a punch from Shadow. The force of the impact caused her to slide back, so she had to stab her sword into the ground to stop herself. She breathed deeply, and pulled her sword from the ground to block Shadow's slice. She kicked Shadow away and sliced him across the waist. She followed up with a kick to the chin that knocked the newly-christened front line fighter to the ground.

Shadow nursed his jaw and smiled at Eros. "Excellent work." This statement caused her to brighten considerably. She helped Shadow up, who continued to speak. "Solar would be proud right now."

"Speaking of Solar, we can't keep him waiting. Let's go to the floor dungeon."

"Grab on," Shadow told the performer, Black Star already in his hand.

"Shouldn't we heal first?" Eros asked, grabbing Shadow's outstretched hand.

"We were in a duel. Our HP restored automatically."

With that, they teleported.

 **(x)**

Solar and Skye were waiting for the two players' arrival, and they looked pissed. "Where were you?" Solar asked/demanded.

"Training her," Shadow replied. "To use a longsword," he said, looking towards Skye.

"Well, follow us," Skye said. Shadow followed the two up to the door leading to the boss room. She stopped and turned to Shadow. "We have to warn you, this boss is deadly, terrifying, _and_ unpredictable."

"And all the other bosses weren't?"

"This one is even more so."

"What's his name?"

"We don't know," Solar said this time. "We tried this boss 5 times without you, and thankfully we got everyone out before they died; however, they're in too much shock to speak, let alone give us details."

"I'll just wing it, then."

When Shadow walked up to the boss room's door, he looked at the people who were present: Kirito, Asuna and the K.O.B., The Tri-Blade Alliance, Wyvern's Inferno, the Fuurinkazan, and Bella. He turned back to open the door, but was stopped when Skye grabbed his arm. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked of the mercenary once he turned around.

"Fighting the boss."

"By _yourself_?"

"That a problem?"

"Well, yeah. Like I said, he's unpredictable."

"And like I said, I'm winging it. Now please let go of my arm."

Once Skye had obliged Shadow, he went to open the door. Before he entered, he told everyone, "No matter what happens, don't interfere unless I say so." Having said that, he walked through the door, leaving everybody with no option other than to watch.

 **(x)**

 _Why is everything bright?_ was the first question Shadow asked himself when he entered the room. _And is that...carnival music?_

Sure enough, carnival music _was_ playing in the background. And at the other end of the room stood, or sat on a unicycle while juggling bowling pins, rather, was a 20-foot-tall humanoid... _thing_. There was no other way to describe it. As Shadow got closer, the music's speed slowed and was distorted.

It was wearing a traditional court jester's outfit, complete with the harlequin-style hat. The colors were bright and patterned, and it was wearing gloves. When Shadow got close enough, the music stopped completely and the thing turned around.

Shadow got a good look at its face, which something he neither wanted nor asked for. It had big, red lips, a clown's nose, and gigantic hands that were still juggling the bowling pins. Its skin was bone white-something that Shadow was confident was anything _but_ makeup-and it had red and yellow slits for eyes.

The thing looked around before looking down and focusing on Shadow. It threw the pins away, and they landed with a thud heavy enough to cause a minor tremor in the room. It bent is head down to Shadow's level, where its face did a literal 180, going from an expression of humor to that of true hatred and anger. The boss roared loudly in Shadow's face, forcing him to protect his face from the wind that blew his coat and scarf back while its fangs were bared. At the same time, the room got dark to the point where the candles hung high on the pillars were lit.

While it roared, five HP bars filled up and the boss's name appeared above its red icon.

 _The Court Jester_.

When the Court Jester stopped roaring, Shadow roared back, drawing his sword at the end of it.

 **(The fight begins here)**

 **(Cue: This is Gonna Hurt by Sixx:A.M.)**

Shadow jumped back when the boss slammed its hand down on where Shadow used to stand. The mercenary retaliated by driving his sword into the boss's hand and slicing upwards, taking out some of its HP. The boss tried to retaliate by dashing at Shadow with its unicycle. Shadow dodged to the side, but he grunted as he was grazed by the unicycle. He charged at the boss once it stopped and turned to Shadow. The boss met Shadow's attacks with swipes from the claws that came out of its hands. Shadow parried the slashes and jumped onto the boss's arm. The Court Jester shook its arm wildly, trying and failing to shake the player off. Shadow took advantage by stabbing his sword into the arm and running up while dragging his blade, a technique done with Count Nightshade and countless bosses. Once he reached the neck area of the Jester, he jumped and slashed the neck, obliterating the boss's first HP bar.

Everyone who was watching gasped in awe. "He might actually do this," a K.O.B. member said.

"Of course he will," Kirito replied with a smile. "He _is_ SAO's Shadow, after all."

Meanwhile, the boss was screaming as its first bar was deprived of its HP. Shadow smirked and jumped off the Jester. He rushed the boss again, and was surprised when the boss nimbly dodged all of Shadow's attacks before smacking him away. Shadow grimaced as he got back up. Thankfully, the boss only took out only a bit of HP. _So it can adapt. Also, I gotta thank Agil for pointing me to the boss that dropped this armor._

Shadow removed his sword and equipped Blood Rose. Outside the boss room, Shadow heard someone gasp in surprise when he brought his scythe out. He ignored it and charged the boss. Knowing the boss thought him to be predictable, Shadow rushed in front of the boss, before weaving to the side.

What Shadow didn't expect was the boss to get off its unicycle and spin it around, forcing him to jump on the wall to avoid the attack. The front line fighter jumped off the wall and rocketed towards the boss, slicing it repeatedly with rapidly charged scythe slashes and delivering a fully charged punch to its nether regions, taking out its second bar All the guys winced and held their packages in sympathy while the boss screamed.

It jumped off its unicycle and hopped around comedically, bringing a smile to Shadow's face as it held its jewels in pain. When it recovered, the boss turned to Shadow and destroyed its unicycle in front of him, which confused the mercenary. _What the hell…?_

The Court Jester's eyes flashed, blinding Shadow. When the mercenary uncovered his eyes, he saw that the boss had disappeared. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _Focus. This is like fighting Bella, if she didn't have her speed. Just._ Listen.

Shadow heard something above him after he finished that thought, and he liked backwards as the boss slammed down on where he was. _Jesus!_ The boss was crawling on all fours and its neck cracked as its head spun in place to meet Shadow's horrified expression. It hissed and rushed towards Shadow, who jumped when it reached his former place. The player stabbed the boss with his scythe before he dashed to the wall, pulling the Jester with him.

Before he reached the wall, he swung his scythe forward, pulling the boss and launching it with all of his power. Taking the opportunity, Shadow equipped Guilty Thorn, brandishing it as the boss crawled out of the hole in the wall. It cracked its neck and smiled maliciously at Shadow, before pulling out two weapons: in its right hand was a giant wooden hammer with a spike on the top of said hammer, and in its left hand was a massive silver sickle that was dripping poison, which sizzled whenever it hit the floor, burning holes wherever it dripped. However, what the boss did next lived true to the "unpredictable" aspect Skye mentioned: it simply planted the hammer and sickle into the ground and...morphed.

Once the boss stopped screaming, it looked up and smiled. Shadow gasped in surprise and slight horror: the boss looked just like Shadow...if said player decided to remove his scarf entirely, join the circus and become an evil clown with sharp teeth.

"Shadow" smiled, baring "his" fangs and taking out a pair of knives identical to Shadow's. Opting to fight fire with fire, Shadow took out his knives and waited. Sure enough, the boss charged first, dashing to Shadow's side. Shadow easily parried the hit and slashed the boss, who growled and started slashing wildly. Some slashes successfully hit Shadow, who quickly responded by repeatedly striking the boss with rapidly charged fists, slowly bringing down its health. **(A/S: Ora ora ora ora ora…!)** Shadow ended the combo by knocking the boss up with Meteor Break, jumping up and slamming it back down with a Meteor Fall.

Everyone cheered when they saw the boss's third HP bar deplete completely. "You got this, Shadow!" Solar, Skye, and those associated with the mercenary called out.

When the Jester stood up, it dashed towards the weapons it planted earlier and picked them up. This action resulted in it glowing white and splitting into two figures a foot-and-a-half taller than their opponent, and they each had one of the two remaining bars the Court Jester once had. They both shared the same look, having the same look as the original form of the Court Jester, but one was holding its weapon in its right hand (Hammer Jester) and the other in the second figure's left hand (Sickle Jester). Shadow re-equipped Guilty Thorn and dashed towards the boss(es). He slashed Hammer, but it blocked the attack and sent a mighty punch towards Shadow, who tanked the hit. As a result, he got knocked far back and his HP dropped to just above the halfway mark. Shadow winced. _Damn, this is annoying. At this point, I'd rather go 10 rounds in the ring with_ Bella _right now._

Shadow looked to see the bosses charging him. Forming a plan, Shadow got up, and dashed, stopping just in the middle of the two. They turned to him and began attacking. Shadow put his plan into motion by pulling a Bella and dodging all of the bosses' strikes by a hairsbreadth, modifying this style so that they hit each other as a result.

When the two caught on to Shadow's plan, they swung their weapons in a way that they both collide with whatever it hit. To dodge this, Shadow did the splits, crouching low, and because the momentum was too great for them to stop, the Hammer Jester and the Sickle Jester hit each other, bringing them down to half their HP bars.

Everyone kept cheering when the bosses stumbled away from each. They kept cheering when Shadow stood back up.

However, they stopped cheering when Hammer inexplicably recovered fast and dashed at Shadow from behind.

"LOOK OUT!" the guild leaders and Kirito shouted at Shadow. Shadow turned to block Hammer's attack, but was too slow as Hammer slammed his weapon into Shadow's stomach, knocking the wind―and a little blood―out of the mercenary. The mercenary got knocked back, and was stabbed from behind by Sickle. The stab destroyed his armor and gave Shadow a feeling of intense pain as he fell to his knees. To add insult to injury, Hammer kicked Shadow away, sending him into a wall and falling on his face.

Everyone screamed, either in shock or horror, and got ready to enter. Bella stood next to Kirito, her hands hovering above her blades before drawing them Before she, or anyone else, could charge in, they were all stopped when Shadow held out his hand towards the door in a 'stop' motion. Begrudgingly, they obliged, and watched as Shadow slowly rose up.

" **No,** " they heard the mercenary speak. His voice sounded different as well. He sounded angry. Demonic, even.

Shadow looked at his HP. _1 HP left, huh? This is getting old._ He stood up straight and started growling. He clenched his fists and a purple fire aura surrounded him as his eyes glowed. " **I said I'll handle this myself!** _"_ he growled as he let out a scream so powerful that it shook the entire room, if not the tower.

Asuna looked into Shadow's eyes―and immediately staggered backwards, overcome by a wave of nausea. Kirito noticed this and held Asuna to keep her steady. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Asuna assured him. "Besides, it's not me you should be worrying about," she finished, looking towards the mercenary in sympathy.

Shadow walked forward after he stopped screaming. He simply looked at Hammer, who foolishly charged the _thing_ Shadow became. The hammer bounced off of Shadow, however, as the young player grabbed it and knocked the monster back with a punch.

Taking full advantage, Shadow charged a skill and, after spinning in a circle for momentum, threw the hammer back to its owner. The next thing everyone saw―or rather, _didn't_ see―was the mercenary dashing towards the hammer; the only visual cue was a thin black line outlined with purple pursuing the hammer. Shadow grabbed the hammer and swung upwards, striking the monster square in the chest―a hammer strike that would make Agil proud.

Upon impact, Hammer shattered, its head flying through (and breaking) the door next to Solar's head, causing the guild leader to move his head in alarm. "JEEZ!"

Shadow dropped the hammer and turned to Sickle, who merely smiled sickeningly. Shadow growled and "blinked" behind Sickle, equipping Guilty Thorn and stabbing through Sickle. The boss roared in pain as the first two thorns broke off.

Shadow followed up by dragging Guilty Thorn across the monster's body, breaking two more thorns and leaving them embedded deep inside the monster's body. Shadow put the boss out of its misery by jumping back with the lance in his hand, and thrusting a fully charged sword skill through the boss, dashing through Sickle and leaving Guilty Thorn inside the boss as it screamed and shattered along with the lance inside it, joining its "brother" in whatever hellhole bosses go to when they die.

 **(The fight and song end here.)**

 _THUMP-THUMP!_

 _THUMP-THUMP!_

Shadow breathed heavily as he returned to normal, his eyes still glowing. He turned to face the shocked crowd standing outside the door. The mercenary said to them in his normal tone and voice: "Showed him."

 _THUMP-THUMP_

Everyone cheered as they rushed into the room and surrounded the mercenary, with the more solitary players smiling and watching from the back. Once Shadow's eyes stopped glowing, he looked at his HP bar, and gasped when he saw the image of a skull over a scythe.

 _THUMP...THUMP_

The cheers of joy turned into cries of alarm as Shadow fell to his knees. The mercenary was struggling to breathe, as his lips turned blue and his skin went pale. "SOMEONE GET ME A HEALING CRYSTAL!" Solar shouted. Ren handed him one, but before Solar got near Shadow, the mercenary stuck his hand out, again stopping Solar.

While the mercenary couldn't speak, Solar could read his lips very clearly. "Reaper's...Touch…" Shadow "said". Immediately after mouthing that, Shadow fell to all fours and shattered.

"SHADOW!"

 _THUMP…_

…

 _T_ _h_ _u_ _m_ _p…_

 **(x)**

 **A/N: Read and Review!**


	18. Chapter 18: Recovery

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 18: Recovery**

 **A/N: I'm just gonna level with you all: I honestly did not think this story would get so far, and in a relatively short time window. Also, I bet most of you didn't expect that ending.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

I died. _That was the first thought that came to Shadow's head when he opened his eyes. He couldn't move; couldn't speak. And still, he managed to register that he was floating in a black void, his coat moving about despite the lack of wind. He held his hand up to the nonexistent sky and laughed to himself._ Well, at least we'll be together again. _He closed his eyes and waited for the microwave signal to fry his brain._

 _5…_

 _4…_

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

 _Ze―_

 _Shadow gasped as he opened his eyes._

 **(x)**

10…

9…

8…

"SHADOW!" Skye and Eros were among the first to yell out the mercenary's name as he shattered into a million pieces. They both collapsed to the floor and began sobbing silently.

"Klein!" Kirito called to Klein urgently. "Do you still…?"

Klein blinked twice, then snapped out of his stupor. "Oh, yeah! Everybody, move outta the way!"

6…

5…

4...

Once everyone moved, Klein opened his menu and selected a shortcut.

In his hand was the Divine Stone of Returning Soul. He held it in front of him.

3…

2...

"Revive...Shadow!" The stone glowed white and shattered into sparkling dust. The dust moved over to where Shadow had died, and began forming a shape of a humanoid on all fours.

1…

Ze _―_

The dust solidified and Shadow reappeared.

 **(x)**

Shadow gasped for breath before he took in his surroundings. He was...in the room where he fought the Court Jester. _Why am I back here?_ he questioned. He heard the sound of people talking and looked up to see everyone who was there when he "died".

"Shadow!" Skye yelled as she ran forward. She hugged him while he was on the floor. Shadow comfortingly patted her back, causing her to hug him even more. "Are you okay?!"

"I'll manage," Shadow choked out. Hearing his strained tone, Skye pulled back, and gasped in shock when she saw Shadow's appearance. His (visible) skin was pale, his lips were blue, and his breath was coming out in the form of mist, despite the warm temperature of the room. "Let me tell you, dying like that is _not_ something you want to go through twice." Solar walked forward and helped Shadow up, who nodded in thanks. Shadow looked to the crowd. "So, who should I thank for bringing me back?"

Everyone pointed towards Kirito and Klein, who smiled sheepishly. "We can't clear this game without you. We _could_ , but that's not the point," Kirito said.

"You're one of the best fighters we have!" Klein chipped in with a thumbs up.

Shadow chuckled. "Thanks, guys. I knew I could count on you." Shadow walked towards the door. To those who knew Shadow, they could see a slight limp in his walk, and he was shaking slightly while he stood still. Without a word or sound, Shadow pushed the door open.

 _Floor 68: Open!_

Everyone cheered for the mercenary, running past him and offering him various forms of praise. Once everyone except Solar and the Tri-Bladers, Bella, Kirito, and company left, Shadow looked to them. "I don't think I'll be able to help out with the next few floors, though," he told Solar.

Solar waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it."

"Just get better soon," Eros said, hugging the mercenary, but not as tightly as Skye did. Shadow gently patted her back.

"Thanks. And I don't know if Kirito told you, but I joined the front lines."

Everyone turned to Kirito accusingly, who shrugged sheepishly. "When were you going to tell us?" Asuna crossed her arms and asked.

"Obviously _before_ he died. Besides, it slipped my mind," Kirito replied.

"I'll see you all later," Shadow said, walking to the door. He was stopped, however, when Bella moved in front of him. "What now?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Will you be okay?"

"...Reaper's Touch is not like other poisons. I won't be of much help for a while. Now, let me leave. I'm crashing in the nearest inn."

 **(x)**

 **3 Days Later...**

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Liz asked in concern as she and Agil tended to Shadow.

"Not really," Shadow responded before doubling over in pain. Agil knelt next to Shadow and patted his back while Shadow doubled over.

"How did you die?" Agil asked once the pain subsided.

"Reaper's Touch." Agil and Liz winced and shook their heads.

"Not good," they both said.

"Yeah, I know. Reaper's Touch is the worst kind of poison: not only does it ignore whatever armor you wear, but it also kills you slowly. It's most potent during battle―the exertion speeds up the effects and it doesn't reveal itself until it's too late. It also spreads and kills indiscriminately―which is why I stopped Solar from healing me."

"And Klein revived you, right?" Liz asked, taking note of Shadow's appearance. His lips were no longer blue, but the chillingly pale skin, the shakes and the misty breath were present.

"Yeah. Thank God for him."

Before the conversation could be continued further, everyone heard a knock at Liz's door. The blacksmith went to open the door. "Asuna? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Liz. Is Shadow here?"

"Why're you asking?"

"I have something to help him recover from the effects of the poison."

"Really? Come on in." The two men heard a pair of footsteps enter the shop. "In the back," they heard Liz tell Asuna.

Shadow didn't bother getting up when Asuna entered. "Agil," the vice commander nodded to the shopkeep, who returned the nod. "Shadow," Asuna said, looking at the mercenary.

"Asuna. Why are you here?"

"I told Liz I had something to help you recover."

"Did Dagger give it to you?"

"Yep." She took out a bottle full of blue liquid.

"Did she charge you?"

"What do you think? You know she was there with Ren and the others. All I had to do was give her your name, and she reduced the price to 500,000 Col."

"Sounds like her. Alright," he said, finally sitting up to face Asuna. "It's for the Reaper's Touch, right?"

The vice commander nodded. "Be careful," she said while handing the front line fighter the potion, "it's _really_ bitter."

"You know what they say, Asuna." The mercenary opened the bottle and got ready to drink. "The better the medicine, the worse the taste. And do I drink the whole bottle?"

"Considering how much of the poison that got into you? Yeah."

"Alright." Shadow drained the bottle and grimaced. "You weren't kidding. This tastes _awful_."

"How do you feel?"

"I think it worked," Liz said, bending down to see Shadow's complexion. "You look better." He did; his skin returned to its normal coloration, he stopped shaking, and his breathing was normal.

"I feel better," Shadow answered, looking down at his fist and clenching it. He looked back up and told Asuna, "Thanks."

"No problem. But you should probably wait the week out, to make sure you fully recover."

"Guess I'll spend the next four days at my tree."

"No, you won't."

"My rock, then?"

"No. Just stay somewhere that's _not_ an inn. Or depressing. Or outdoors."

 **(x)**

 **Floor 52: Gothamopolis**

 **The Tri-Blade Alliance Guild House**

"You...want Shadow to stay here?" was Solar's first question when Shadow and Asuna told him the situation.

"Only for the next four days," Asuna reassured the guild leader. "He's fully recovered, but I think it's best he doesn't do anything he would normally do in his line of work until the week passes."

Solar was silent, thinking for a moment. Finally, he turned to the mercenary, who looked about ready to leave. "Skye will take you to your room." Shadow nodded and walked inside. Solar gently pulled Asuna by the arm, dragging her away from the door. "Why are you doing this for him?" Solar asked in a hushed tone.

"Why, Solar," Asuna put a hand on her chest in an offended fashion, and responded in the same tone as Solar. "Are you asking me why I care about Shadow's health?"

"No, I'm asking why _you_ care about Shadow's health! Last I checked, you couldn't trust him to be in the same room as Silica's dragon!"

"That was _before_ I saw things his way. A Hero's End...whatever he became during his fight with The Court Jester...it changed the way I saw him."

"Pray tell, how did it change?"

"I saw what he was going through―the burden he carries. It's a hell of a lot more than what a normal human being can handle. And don't forget that he's not much older than we are."

"...You win. I was already gonna let him stay, but this cinches it."

Asuna smiled and broke away from Solar. "See you on the front lines!" Asuna said, waving as she left.

 **(x)**

 **(A/N: I'm not writing down what happens during the next four days, because then it'll get too boring.)**

 **Four Days Later…**

"Thanks for your help, Sir Shadow," Pearce said, lowering his bow. Shadow nodded in response.

The two players were doing a little bit of target practice, and Shadow surprised Pearce when he hit all of the targets accurately, and with his throwing knives.

"No trouble. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading back inside." The mercenary was about to head inside, when…

"Isn't today the last day of your recovery?" The Silent Savior turned to face the Advent Archer.

"Yeah. So?"

"I just wanted to make sure. And thanks."

"For what?"

"You took the time out of your recovery to help me―and everyone else in the guild―get stronger."

"No problem." Shadow walked inside the guild's headquarters, where he walked into the room given to him. There was another room next to his, but…

" _If you can help it, please don't go in there,_ " Solar politely told him. " _That's Arctic's room, and―well, you know._ "

 _I know. He's a friend, and it'd be a great disrespect if anyone slept there other than_ him.

On the first day of his stay here, he agreed to train Cupid in using a lance. She proved to be just as formidable as her best friend, Eros, by the end of the training.

On his second day, he spent his time fixing up his weapons.

On his third day, he simply traveled outside around the building, in the fields, and even ran into Kirito and Bella, the latter of whom having returned to her habit of shadowing the former.

Today, he spent his time practicing with Pearce.

However, whenever he wasn't doing anything, he always found himself drawn to the broadsword in the glass case outside in the main hallway. _Arctic's sword,_ everyone told him when they caught him staring at the weapon. He didn't know why, but he always felt... _something_ whenever he sees the weapon.

He was brought out of his musings when a knock came from the other side of the door. "It's me," Skye's voice rang out. Shadow walked up and went to open the door. "How are you feeling?" the vice commander asked with a tray full of food in her hands.

Shadow smiled. "110 percent," he replied. Skye smiled sadly and looked down. "What's wrong?" the mercenary asked, his smile gone.

"Nothing," she said in a tone that said otherwise. "It's just…" She shook her head and handed the tray to him. "I'm glad to hear you're alright," she said in her usual chipper tone.

"Thanks for letting me stay here."

"You've helped us in clearing the game on multiple occasions. The least we can do is offer you somewhere to stay, if only for a while."

Shadow was silent as Skye left. He finished eating the food she left him. _Today's also the day when..._ He shook his head. _Not now._

However, in the distance, in the nearest town, Shadow heard someone scream. He stood up and left through the window.

 **(x)**

Being a Friday, everyone was in the fields outside the base training. Imagine their surprise when Cupid spotted Shadow jumping and landing in a crouch with a heavy thud. "What's he doing?" she asked, pointing at the mercenary.

Skye looked towards the mercenary, who made a mad dash to the town. "Where are you going?!" she shouted at Shadow as he dashed past them.

"I heard a scream within the town!" the front line fighter shouted back. "Checking it out!"

Solar and everyone else immediately dashed after the mercenary. Shadow didn't bother using his Black Star because the town was close.

He just hoped to whatever God was up there that he'll make it in time.

 **(x)**

Shadow arrived just in time to see a guy in a cloak charge an obviously under-leveled player in a duel. The defending player screamed in terror as the attacking player prepared to make contact with his hammer.

SLASH!

The player looked at his weapon with wide eyes as the hammer's head flew off and landed next to him. He looked back to see Shadow escort the terrified player out of the area, before he turned to face the defenseless player. "What's your problem?" the mercenary growled.

"Just tryna get your attention. It worked."

"You couldn't have lit a bonfire?"

"Too much work. Besides, this is more fun."

Shadow growled, and the Tri-Blade Alliance arrived in time to see the spectacle.

"I haven't really been myself since last week, buddy. And you can ask anyone on the front lines; their answer will be the same." Shadow's eyes glowed. " **You don't want to piss me off.** "

The unnamed player nervously raised his arms in surrender. "Hey, I'm just the messenger, pal. They've really got it in for ya."

"Who?" Shadow asked, his eyes returning to normal.

"Laughing Coffin." Shadow, and everyone else, stiffened.

"I took them down."

"You took down their _leader_. That doesn't necessarily mean you took down the _guild_. Anyways, Red-Eyed XaXa sends his regards."

"They let _him_ take charge?"

"Hey, he's actually more effective than Jeffrey ever was. But I digress. His message is this:

"You come to Floor 22, the fields. You will come alone. And all of the murder guilds will fight you."

"That's not fair!" Solar shouted at the "messenger". "That's just―"

"When?" Shadow asked, cutting Solar off.

The "messenger" smiled. "High noon. Be there." He turned and held out a crystal. "Teleport: Cocytus!" Having done his job, "the messenger" left.

 **(x)**

 **A/N: Okay, the next two chapters will be two-parters, and will be released on the same day Solar releases Chapters 9 and 10 of his RWBY story, Team JEST. Please go check it out, and give him and it all of the love you can spare.**

 **And as always, Read and Review!**


	19. Chapter 19: The Final Battle--Part 1

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 19: The Final Battle―Part 1**

 **A/N: Well, everyone. Here it is: Part one of The Final Battle. Also, at the end of Chapter 20, we will finally reveal the player under Shadow's hood.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own SAO!**

 **(x)**

 **(Cue "Prayers for the Damned" by Sixx A.M)**

 **May 12, 2024**

 **Floor 22: Legends' Hill**

High noon. It was damn close to that time, and he _still_ hasn't shown up yet. Everyone in Aincrad had come to watch―from the children to the Knights of the Blood Oath, and they were all forced to remain passive, as they wanted to fight Shadow, and nobody else. "What the hell, XaXa?!" One of the murder guild leaders called. "You said he'd show up!"

"I said he'd show _by_ that time, not necessarily before," XaXa replied in a tone that made the crowd shiver. "If he doesn't show up, kill someone for every hour that passes. The body count relies on him."

"Yes, sir!" An LC member called.

"No need," a voice rang out from behind the crowd. Everyone turned―and cheered as Shadow walked through the opening the crowd made for him. While he was walking, everyone he passed by either patted him on the back or shoulder while they cheered. He stopped in front of the guilds and raised his arms to his sides. "Here I am," he finished.

"Great!" XaXa, and everyone else, smiled murderously. "I suppose you know what happens next."

"Yeah," Shadow replied, pulling his scarf down to reveal his malicious smile. "I win."

"Aw, that's cute. You think you have a chance to win."

"Speak for yourself." Shadow walked up the hill and onto the wooden platform where they were clearly supposed to fight. "I'm fighting not only for myself, but for everyone watching," he stated while unsheathing his longsword and pointing it at XaXa. "Losing is not an option."

"No," XaXa said, the evil smile never leaving his face. " _Death_ is."

 **(The fight begins here.)**

XaXa stayed back as several members of the several murder guilds (foolishly) charged the mercenary. Shadow dodged one blow, and parried another. They _knew_ they were going to lose, but what bothered them was the fact Shadow was _clearly_ toying with them. Finally, he stopped playing around when he clashed with one person, easily overpowering them and cutting them down. He turned, threw his sword into the head of someone else, and kicked the gut of a murderer that tried to strike him from behind. He swiftly teleported and grabbed his sword from the now-shattering player. He turned to face XaXa again, and tauntingly pointed his sword and motioned for XaXa to send more people.

XaXa fell for the bait, and sent in more men. They all formed a circle around Shadow, who opted to switch to Blood Rose. The group took this opportunity to charge Shadow, but were all knocked away by a sweep of the still-forming scythe. Shadow dodged the attacks coming to him, leaving the ones that landed to be glancing blows. He retaliated by stabbing his scythe into the head of one guy, pulling it out and stabbing the gut of the person behind him without looking back, and sliced through a third, leaving all three to shatter as he dashed forward.

Everyone was in awe of the breathtaking grace Shadow was fighting with. He danced around his enemies, slicing and stabbing as he weaved through the forces. Even XaXa, who had appeared to be confident that he would win, was beginning to look worried. Shadow switched to his knives, making him an even deadlier force than he already was.

The mercenary grinned as he cut through the enemy forces, their numbers shortening with each second that passed. Once the herd was thinned enough, he switched to his scythe and dashed towards the seemingly exposed XaXa.

He was stopped in his tracks, however, when from somewhere behind XaXa stepped out a _very_ familiar face. The hero was so stunned, he wasn't at all prepared for the stab from behind. He sucked in a breath as Johnny Black's voice growled from behind him, "Remember me, asshole?" as he twisted the knives, further paralyzing Shadow.

Shadow fell to his knees, but was held up two things: sheer determination, and, eventually, two murder guild members. "Fucking...cowards!" Shadow cursed out the murderers, all of whom chuckled evilly.

"Sorry, friend," XaXa said darkly as he stepped forward. Before he reached Shadow, he kneeled down and grabbed Shadow's Blood Rose. "We just can't take any chances with you, you see." XaXa held out Blood Rose and lifted Shadow's head up by the chin with the blade. "Got any last things to say?"

Shadow whispered something that XaXa couldn't hear. As XaXa leaned closer, Shadow smirked and said out loud, "Do your worst, you son of a bitch."

XaXa smirked. "I plan on making you suffer, you know. I'll only kill you after everyone took a swing at you." XaXa snapped his fingers. "Line up, boys."

"Payback time!" One of the leaders of the murder guilds snarled as he cracked his knuckles. He was the first to take a swing at the now-defenseless Shadow, smiling in sick and twisted satisfaction upon seeing the mercenary grit his teeth in pain. Every other murderer lined up, preparing their weapons. One by one they lined up to get a few good licks in on the One Man Army that managed to tear them down effortlessly.

SLASH!

SLICE!

PUNCH!

SLASH!

PUNCH!

STAB!

This went on for quite a while. And what irked the attackers most: the lack of noise Shadow made to show the level of pain he was in.

Through it all, everyone watching were either sobbing out of fear for their hero, or making their kids, as well as themselves, look away in horror. In the crowd, Liz was sobbing near uncontrollably while Agil comforted her, his eyes never leaving the gruesome scene before the crowd.

Eventually, Shadow got hit with enough force to send him flying, his head hanging over the edge of the platform. XaXa stood over him, charging the scythe, getting ready to deliver the final blow. "I'll see you in Hell, hero!" he chuckled before swinging the blade down. Shadow braced himself for the (second) killing blow.

It never came.

Shadow opened his eyes when he heard a sound. He looked up to see two figures wearing cloaks-one red and the other blue-run and stab the two murderers who were formerly holding the mercenary up. They jumped off the air a bit during the rush and slammed their blades into the ground in an icepick grip, shattering the two murderers. When they turned to him, the first things he registered were the wide smiles and twinkling eyes.

"Ghost?" Shadow asked in surprise. "Rider?"

"Hiya, Mr. Shadow!" the two kids waved happily.

 **(x)**

 _ **The Night Before**_

" _Alright," Shadow started as those around the table looked at him. "Here's my plan."_

" _Wait a minute," Solar interrupted. "So you're telling me that the Silent Savior has a plan to take on the murder guilds?_ Other _than take them down? Why?"_

" _Because even_ I _can't take on all of the murder guilds at once. Doubtless, they'll stab me from behind."_

" _What's the plan?" Ren asked._

 _Shadow surveyed those around the round table in the Tri-Blade Alliance's war room: Solar, Skye, Akira, Pearce, Cupid, Eros, Asuna, Kirito, Klein, Ren and his guild, Liz and Agil. All people who had supported him, or at least have interacted with him in the past. "I'll take on as much as I can beforehand. When it gets too much for me, meaning when they inevitably gang up on me and deal a cheap shot...which one of you has a maxed out straining skill?"_

" _Bella does," Kirito said. Immediately after saying that, he_ ― _and everyone else_ ― _looked around for her. "Where is she, by the way?"_

 _Shadow simply walked over to a corner in the dark room and slammed his fist on the wall. Bella walked out of the shadows, almost like she was made from the darkness. "Aw, you found me," she chuckled._

" _...How?" everyone asked incredulously._

" _Mastery over Badassery," was Shadow's only reply._

Oh, my God, he's so goddamn cool! _Skye and Eros thought._

" _That's beside the point. Bella, 50 yards away, what do you hear and how clearly can you hear it?"_

" _I hear two guys confessing their love for one woman 50 yards away while handing her gifts," she answered instantly._

" _If you can hear_ that _, then you can also hear me whisper the signal to attack."_

" _No problem," The Silver Shadow smiled._

" _Ren, you lead your guild to take down the grunts on my command. Let Riku, Dagger, and Mai take care of them. They'll be more than a match for those idiots."_

" _What about Alice and Helios?" Ren asked._

" _They'll be with you, and you'll be fighting alongside me. I need the_ absolute best _by my side. Most of you here fall into that category easily._

" _And if you can, do some scouting. Find_ anyone _that's willing to help me_ and _has the power to back me up. And get some rest. I'm sleeping tonight, so you_ know _it's serious."_

" _Right!" everyone nodded and left the room._

 **(x)**

 **Today**

 **Five Minutes Prior**

" _Got any last things to say?" XaXa asked the paralyzed hero._

 _Instantly, Shadow whispered, "Attack now." When XaXa leaned in to clearly hear his words, the mercenary only smirked. "Do your worst, you son of a bitch."_

" _That's our signal," Bella said to the group behind her. She did some scouting and found two people who feel that they owe their lives to the mercenary-and they weren't pushovers, either. Everyone ran after the Silver Shadow. Riku, Dagger, and Mai all broke away to fight the grunts, and the rest were held up by some of the elite members. Seeing no other option than to fight, Bella and everyone else engaged the elites._

" _What do we do, Ms. Bella?" the red-cloaked figure asked the older female._

" _We'll meet up with you," was her reply. "Go!"_

 **(x)**

"Wow. I am _really_ glad to see you two again," Shadow chuckled as Ghost (red cloak) helped Shadow up to his feet and handed his hero a healing crystal. Grabbing it thankfully, Shadow whispered, "Heal," as he shattered the crystal in his fist. Meanwhile, Rider (blue cloak) had picked up Shadow's weapon from the floor and handed it back to its rightful owner.

"What should we do now, Mr. Shadow?" Rider eagerly asked his hero.

"We wait for the others," Shadow replied, prompting the young protégés to nod in understanding. Shadow heard something come from the forest, and when he turned to see what it was, his allies jumped in. "It took you guys long enough. The kids got here faster than you," Shadow remarked.

Bella shrugged. "Took a while for everyone else to get ready," she said with her usual amused smile.

"Never mind that. Is everyone in place?"

"They're already attacking." Indeed, they were. The members Shadow asked Ren to assign for were holding off the murder guilds' grunts.

"How about the others?"

"Right here!" Solar said as he jumped out with his elite Tri-Bladers, Ren, Alice, Helios, Kirito, and Asuna. "Sorry it took a while. We got held up."

"Understandably. Now get ready!" Shadow turned back to face the infuriated XaXa, and equipped his longsword.

He looked to his right and saw Solar, Skye, Akira, Pearce, Cupid, Eros, and Asuna, lined up and combat-ready, with serious faces and weapons waiting to be drawn. They each turned to Shadow in unison and nodded. "Say when," Solar said, looking back at their murderous opponents.

Shadow nodded and looked to his left: Ghost, Rider, Bella, Ren, Alice, Helios, and Kirito all smiled confidently and nodded, their weapons out as well. Shadow looked forward and charged a sword skill. When his allies followed his lead, he smirked.

"Attack...NOW!" With that, everyone charged at the same time XaXa and his troupe charged.

 **(Cue "I'm Alive" by Shinedown)**

Solar was the first to strike, as he was being charged at by a killer with knives. Swiftly, and too fast for the naked eye, Solar cut through the killer, shattering him. _Gotta love the Quick Draw_ , the leader thought.

Solar, however, didn't see the next killer rush him from behind, and turned around when he heard a grunting and a shattering. He turned to see Ren behind him, the remaining polygons of the shattering player still surrounding him. Upon noticing his fellow leader's look, Ren simply said, "Crimson Flash."

Solar nodded in understanding. "Quick Draw." Ren nodded back, and the two prepared to take on anyone else foolish enough to charge them head-on. "Should we kill the rest?"

"Nah. Let them live." With that, they charged the killers without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Skye and Alice were working in tandem with each other, knocking some of the killers back into the other's incoming strikes. "You're pretty good, Alice!" Skye remarked as she jumped on the head of a killer and pushed them back into Alice's scythe swing.

"You're not too shabby, yourself!" Alice responded with a smile as Skye stabbed another murderer and immediately sliced another behind her.

At the same time, Pearce jumped up high and shot down three opponents, pinning them to the floor with the paralysis poison. This attack gave Helios more than enough time to charge through and swing his axe wildly, cutting down all opponents that were too close to him. "Watch it!" Pearce said when he landed, narrowly dodging Helios' axe swings.

"Don't get in my way, and _maybe_ you won't get hit!" Helios growled back as he kept swinging and knocking down more killers.

Cupid and Eros were fighting alongside Ghost and Rider. "You got better!" Cupid shouted to her best friend after watching her flip and slice through an opponent.

"Thanks! Shadow trained me!" Eros shouted back when she landed.

Ghost and Rider both had the same flow going, and surprised the two females with their finesse, slicing and dodging about. "Switch!" Ghost called.

"On it!" Rider said back before he jumped on top of a tank. Using his nimble body to his advantage, Rider dragged his blade up the tank's body, jumping and slashing the head off, landing in a crouch as he shattered.

"Impressive," Eros and Cupid said in admiration, back-to-back with the two boys.

"Thanks," Ghost and Rider called back.

During this, Akira and Bella both partnered up and were working together. Akira was swinging her axe in a circle, certainly more graceful than Helios. Bella ran through and sliced past all enemies before her, nimbly dodging Akira's swings as the latter cut the murderers down. "You're fast," Akira pointed out as she watched Bella dodge the enemy's attacks.

"You're not bad, yourself," Bella laughed as she watched Akira fight gracefully with an axe, a thing no one else can do successfully.

Throughout all this, Shadow opted to fight XaXa and his forces. The mercenary sliced through all foes XaXa sent after him and dashed towards the leader. He expected XaXa to be no pushover, and he was right, as XaXa blocked and parried Shadow's slice with his twin knives, forcing his opponent to fly back. The two continued the fight like that for a while, until Shadow looked over XaXa's shoulder and saw _him,_ ready to teleport with the white shard in his hand.

"YOU!" Shadow screamed, pushing XaXa away, and teleporting above the retreating player. With the Black Star in his hand, he sent a fist down towards his new opponent. He blocked with his left hand―the hand holding the white shard. In an instant, the two disappeared: one in a bright flash of white light, and the other in a black void that sucked the light in.

 **(x)**

 **A/N: Read and Review!**


	20. Chapter 20: A Hero's End

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 20: The Final Battle―Part 2: A Hero's End**

 **A/N: Well, here it is: the second half of The Final Battle. Let me know what you think, as this has been in the making for quite a while.**

 **S/N: You know the disclaimer already.**

 **(x)**

 **Floor 19: …'s Grave**

Shadow and his opponent both landed with a thud next to each other. The two rolled away from each other and slowly got up to their feet. The second player laughed maliciously. "'Ello, there," he said in an Australian accent. "How long's it been?"

"Too long," was Shadow's grim reply as the two warriors drew their blades. "Kutthroat." The name was said in a tone of pure contempt―so much so that no language on Earth could give the proper word to describe it.

Kutthroat looked at Shadow, taking in his new appearance, from the hood to the black trench coat. "Black looks good on ya, mate," the PKer remarked.

"You're wearing white now?" Shadow asked while he looked at his opponent. Kutthroat was wearing all white―a white cloak over a white shirt, and steely grey armor and pants.

"Of course. Figured I should match this." He took out his shard: It looked exactly like Shadow's, all the way to the core. The only difference was the color; where Shadow's star was black, Kutthroat's appeared to be white all over, with the star inside the crystal being a black hole instead. "The White Star of Pure Hope," Kutthroat said matter-of-factly. "I got it from the field boss 'Heaven's Monarch'. It's apparently part of a set; you know what the other half is."

"Count Nightshade," Shadow said with a tone of realization. "And his Black Star."

"Yep. Just another way of fate telling us: this was _meant_ to happen. And let's not keep death waiting, shall we?"

"For once," Shadow said, getting into a battle stance while charging his sword, "I wholeheartedly agree."

 **(The fight begins here)**

 **(Cue "My Name (Wearing Me Out) by Shinedown)**

The two warriors teleported towards each other, clashing halfway. "This won't be like last time," Shadow growled, pushing his blade against Kutthroat's.

"I agree," the PKer growled back, no longer smiling. "I'll finish the job."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's the idea, mate!"

Shadow broke the clash and dashed forward, slicing at his opponent with his longsword. Kutthroat dodged every slice and punched Shadow in the face. Recovering quickly, the black-clad player delivered a kick to the white-clad one's chest, following up with an upwards slash. This combo knocked Kutthroat to his back, and the villain rolled to dodge the sword stab Shadow was going to hit him with.

He got back to his feet and slashed Shadow with enough force that the mercenary was knocked all the way back. His head stopped in front of a sword planted in the ground. He shakily got up and made the mistake of looking at the blade. Shadow made a slight choking sound as he recognized the blade.

He looked back to Kutthroat and roared in rage. He powered up as his eyes glowed and the nightmarish fire from the Floor 67th boss fight engulfed him.

Kutthroat merely chuckled. "My turn," he said maliciously. He held his sword in front of him with two hands. He screamed, possibly in pain, as he was enveloped in an inky black flame. When he opened his eyes, they were all black, and a truly terrifying sight as he smiled at his opponent. Shadow said nothing as he and Kutthroat dashed, slicing through each other. They turned and, with an ungodly speed that the normal eye couldn't detect, they immediately began slashing at each other, their blades blocking the other's every blow. Eventually, Shadow broke the clash and hit Kutthroat with enough power to break through his fire wall and slice clean through him. Kutthroat screamed as his HP dropped down to just above the halfway mark. The PKer recovered fairly quickly and dashed towards Shadow, who dodged his attack and punched him so hard that he stopped only when he hit a tree.

In a sense of poetic justice, Shadow dropped his sword and grabbed the one planted in _her_ grave; the grave that was never supposed to be there. He looked towards the now-dashing Kutthroat. In a flash, he charged a sword skill and dashed forward as well, stabbing Kutthroat in a straight thrust style. When the sound of steel hitting V.R. flesh hit his ears, the mercenary looked up to see Kutthroat standing in front of him, the blade in his chest as he powered down.

 **(The fight and song end here)**

Once Shadow stabbed Kutthroat, effectively ending the match, the Aussie dropped his sword, staring at the blade in his chest in shock. To his killer's surprise, Kutthroat began laughing. "What's so funny?!" Shadow growled. Calmly, Kutthroat opened his menu, his hand shaking all the while, and went to his transfer screen. All Shadow could do was watch as Kutthroat selected an item(?) to transfer, and as he selected Shadow's profile. Shadow felt something form in his free hand, and he looked down to see Kutthroat's black longsword. It had the same structure as his own, with the only differences being that this blade was serrated on one side; the blade was all black, like someone took a chunk of darkness, solidified it, and gave it the form of a one-handed blade, or a longsword, to be more specific. "What the hell is this?!"

Kutthroat grabbed Shadow's shoulder, and leaned in. The mercenary allowed this, wanting to hear what his rival had to say. "All the blood...on my hands...is on yours now... _mate_ ," the dying killer whispered, malice laced in the single syllable of his last word. With that, Kutthroat fell forward as Shadow pulled out his sword, and the killer shattered.

Putting his sword back in his inventory, Shadow viewed the weapon that Kutthroat gave him. He read the flavor text, and his eyes widened in shock. "No…"

' _Unique Skill: Darkness Blade_

 _Given to the player who killed the most other players in the game._

 _Obtained: Transfer'_

The weapon wasn't a weapon at all. It was a sick byproduct of Kutthroat's evil efforts in the game. And it now belonged to _his_ killer. Looking down, Shadow saw two rainbow-colored items. The rainbow-color indicated that it was an S-Class item. Shadow picked it up, and received ' _The White Star of Pure Hope.'_ When Shadow picked up the Star, it disappeared, and so did his Black Star. What was left in his inventory, once he checked it, was _The Grey Star of Broken Dreams._ Shadow picked up the other item, and received _Kutthroat's Knife (broken), S-Class_. Shadow knew what this was; proof that he had indeed killed the merciless killer. But even then, Kutthroat was still haunting him. It began to rain. In his rage, Shadow fell to his knees, items in his hand, and yelled a shattering cry, filled to the brim with rage, as he looked up to the sky, the raindrops falling on his face blending in with tears that hadn't been shed for quite a long time.

Some time had passed before he got up. When he did, he shakily planted the sword he used to kill Kutthroat back where it originally was. He turned to leave, but stopped when he felt something behind him. He turned around to see that day was breaking, and in front of the sun, stood his wife. He kept staring at her in disbelief, while she stared back, her gaze hard. The two remained that way for several minutes, until they both shook their heads; him, in order to convince himself that he was hallucinating; and her, in disappointment at what her love had become. The two turned away from each other, and walked their separate paths; he walked into the darkness, and she walked into the light.

 **(x)**

"Hold your fire!" Solar called as his archers were preparing to fire in case Kutthroat came back, and not Shadow. The allies of the mercenary had taken care of XaXa and his forces, leaving (most of) them alive so they could answer for their crimes. Everyone, from those who fought alongside Shadow, to those who were watching the "Final Battle" take place, was waiting.

Some time passed.

More time passed.

Everyone was getting more and more worried with every hour that had passed.

Finally, a grey light appeared. _Grey?_ Solar thought as he readied his hand to give the command for the archers to fire. He froze in place when he saw who stepped out of the light.

Shadow walked through, dressed in different armor and a new coat (armor and a coat that looked all too familiar to those who knew it), and on his left shoulder was the insignia of a guild. He was holding a sword in his left hand, and a broken knife in his right. He was looking down, for reasons no one could decipher. His scarf was gone, giving full view of his face, and his hood was down, giving full view of his head. "He's dead," Shadow started as he dropped the knife hilt. It shattered, and he finally looked up. His red eyes were emotionless. When he blinked once, his eyes lost their glow. When he blinked again, his eyes changed, becoming a long-forgotten blue color. "I killed him," Arctic finished remorsefully.


	21. Chapter 21: Flashes from the Past

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 21: Flashes From the Past**

 **A/N:...**

 **S/N:...**

 **Disclaimer:...**

 **(x)**

" _You're such an idiot," Lizbeth said while laughing._

" _And yet, I can still make you laugh," Arctic said while smiling. They were in the fields, and had spent the day together. Being the leader of The Tri-Blade Alliance, it was his day off. So he decided to spend it with Liz. "I heard about what happened," he said, no longer smiling._

 _Liz had stopped laughing as well, and looked down sadly._

" _It was my fault," she said miserably. "If I hadn't been so persistent, then they would still be alive."_

" _It wasn't your fault," the guild leader said reassuringly. "No one could have known that the room was a trap, least of all you or me. But hey, at least_ you _got out alive. And if they were here, then they would not want you to mourn for them."_

" _True." Lizbeth wiped away the tears that were falling._

" _And I heard you became quite the introvert. And I think I know why. You don't have to be scared. I'm here for you_ _ㅡ_ _we all are. And if you ever need help, just remember: You have me on your friends list. Send me a message."_

" _Thanks," Liz said, smiling again. "You know," she said while looking at the sunset, "I've been thinking about becoming a blacksmith."_

" _Well, I'm sure you'd be the best in the_ Liz, _" Arctic replied, winking at the female player._

" _Oh my god!" Lizbeth shouted, laughing out loud. "I_ knew _you were going to say that!"_

" _You gave me an opening," Arctic said, laughing as well. "What, was I_ not _supposed to say it?"_

 _Lizbeth sighed and laid down on the grass, with her friend following suit. She looked towards him and smiled._

 _Too bad he was taken._

 **(x)**

" _Let's dance!" Arctic and Kutthroat screamed as they clashed. They both used their fists to do the talking. Where one would strike, another would answer in kind._

" _Why does Laughing Coffin want us dead?" Arctic demanded._

" _You're giving people too much hope," Kutthroat responded. Eventually, they broke away and drew their swords. Arctic's eyes widened at the deep black color of his opponent's blade. "Pretty, ain't it?" the sword's wielder chuckled menacingly._

" _Well, you won't get a hit on me!" the heroic player shouted while charging a sword skill. When his opponent charged his sword skill, he took notice of the unusual and justifiably unsettling black color that it formed. They charged and struck each other's blades with all their force._

 _The guild's leader winced and sent a punch to his opponent's face, stunning him and knocking him back. He charged a sword skill, and screamed as he dashed forward with a forward thrust. When the sound of steel striking V.R. flesh reached his ears, he looked up with a triumphant smirk…_

 _Which immediately turned to an expression of horror as he screamed, NO!"_

 _He had stabbed someone else: a woman, and his in-game wife, Takano. She swayed in her spot for a bit before she collapsed her forward. Her unfortunate assassin caught her and held her close, sobbing quietly and repeatedly whispering, "I'm sorry."_

 _Despite her intense pain and rapidly decreasing HP, she smiled and raised a hand to lovingly caress her in-game husband's face. "It's okay. No matter what happens, I will_ always _love you."_

" _Same," he said quietly. He was about to take out a healing potion when she put her other hand on his, stopping him. Arctic looked at Takano in shock as she smiled and closed her eyes, before shattering into crystal shards._

 _Arctic was stunned, looking at the spot where Takano once was, faintly feeling her touch on his face. He stood up and looked at Kutthroat, who was maliciously laughing, before looking to the sky and screaming as loud as he could. His scream reflected his grief, anger, regret and sorrow. Eventually, he felt something...burning stir within him. He looked down to face his opponent, tears streaming from his eyes as he never stopped screaming; as a direct result of the burning power, his eyes had turned into a nightmarish red color. He picked up his sword and dashed in a near-ungodly speed to his opponent._

 _However, Kutthroat took out a white shard and disappeared in a bright flash, his laugh ringing in Arctic's ears. He didn't stop, dashing towards the spot where his opponent once stood. In his rage, he cut through a tree, letting it fall._

 _When his anger subsided, all of the negative emotions hit the young player like a freight train. He staggered over to the spot where his love had shattered, both figuratively_ and _literally, and fell to his knees. His sword lay in his hands, which he stared at for a seemingly endless amount of time. To the outside world, it seemed odd that he was staring at the sword in his hands blankly. But to him…_

 _He saw his blade, and especially his hands, stained with blood that was too life-like to be considered virtual. Maybe because the blood_ was _real._

 _Very,_ very _real._

 _Arctic snapped out of his trance and shakingly planted the sword a couple inches above where Takano's head used to be. When the game instantly marked it as her grave, he collapsed, leaning on the sword as he silently cried in his hands. He was so deep in his sorrows…_

 _He failed to acknowledge the entire guild, who had watched the entire spectacle, horrified by the events that ensued._

 **(x)**

" _You sure you want to go?" the guild's vice commander asked, following the official leader_ ㅡ _and his best friend_ ㅡ _to the door. Arctic looked back to see his two best friends, Solar and Skye._

" _I have to," the player-to-leave responded. "Neither of you have any idea what I'm going through."_

 _Solar bit his lip. "Yeah, I'm sure we don't. But then, who's going to take your place?"_

" _I'm sure you two have it handled."_

" _How will we know when you come back?" the Tri-Blade Alliance's top tactician asked, sadness lacing her voice._

" _Life's never a_ when _situation," Arctic told her. He put a hand on her head. "It's always an_ if _situation." Skye blushed. He turned away while removing his hand from her head. He proceeded to open his friends list. He selected all of the players on the list, and unfriended them. Arctic turned to Solar and Skye and, with a sad tone that broke their hearts, told them, "Don't come looking for me. Please." With that, he walked out the door, held up a crystal and said:_

" _Teleport: Town of Beginnings."_

 **(x)**

 _Arctic glared darkly at his open inbox. He was sitting on his bed, and was currently in an inn at the Town of Beginnings. Despite it being midnight outside, he still had his curtains closed and all light sources in his room put out. The only source of illumination was his menu._

" _Congratulations! You have been deemed eligible for a brand-new armor set and weapons!_

 _Armor: The Shadow Set_

 _Weapons:_

 _Sword of Shadows (?-Class) (One-Handed Longsword)_

 _Blades of Silence (?-Class) (Twin Daggers)_

 _ACCEPT_

 _DENY_

― _GM: Kayaba Akihiko"_

 _Wasn't it odd that he got this message_ after _Takano died? He fingered the necklace he was wearing in thought; his necklace was a lapis lazuli gemstone, shaped like a teardrop and was placed around his neck with a black leather cord. Deciding he now had nothing to lose, he pressed "ACCEPT."_

 _Instantly, Arctic felt his world go dark. He couldn't see. Couldn't hear._

 _Couldn't breathe._

 _However, this feeling was replaced with sheer power. Almost like...he could take on 50 Illfangs at once. He chuckled silently at this feeling._

 _Eventually, when the darkness cleared, he looked through the window and winced at the rays of light coming through._

 _He decided to take a look in the mirror to see his new armor. He was surprised by what he saw._

 _He was dressed in all black, with a mask covering the lower half of his face. He looked at his eyes, which had changed to a nightmarish red. And the last time his eyes became that color…_

 _It still hurt to think about her, and how he was responsible for her death._

 _And yet…_

" _Arctic" chuckled, ignoring all of the negative emotions swirling through him._

 _Guilt._

 _Anger._

 _Regret._

 _Sorrow._

 _These demons are what make up the being known only as "Arctic."_

 **(x)**

 **Floor 22**

" _How good is this?" "Arctic" asked the kind merchant, referring to the broadsword he was holding._

" _Not very good, I'm afraid," the merchant admitted. "It's C-Class, and I have no use for it."_

" _I'll pass, then. I've already stocked up on throwing knives," "Arctic" said as he gave the broadsword back to the merchant. He felt a pair of eyes staring at him, and he turned to see Solar standing in the town square, looking right at him._ What's he doing here? _"Arctic" immediately facepalmed mentally after asking himself this._ Oh, right. Tomorrow's the day of the boss raid. He must be here doing some last-minute recruiting.

 _Solar walked up to "Arctic", and the former seemed tense. To clear the tension, Solar cleared his throat and smiled. "Hi. Are you interested in participating in the upcoming boss raid?"_

Does he not recognize me? _Despite this, "Arctic" said nothing, as Solar awkwardly stuck his hand out. "Anyway, my name's Sol―"_

" _I know who you are," "Arctic" responded in a tone that he noted wasn't his own._

" _O-Oh," Solar said, retracting his hand._

" _And yes, I'll join."_

" _Gr-great!" Solar immediately perked up. He caught himself, and asked, "What's your name?"_

 _Before "Arctic" could respond, a voice from the deepest shadow in his head told him,_ Don't tell him your name. He doesn't know. Use that to your advantage.

" _...Shadow," "Arctic", now formally known as Shadow, replied._


	22. Chapter 22: A Leader's Return

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 22: A Leader's Return**

 **A/N: Sorry for ruining your lives with that revelation. For compensation (and a way to vent), leave a review (or PM me, whatever helps) detailing your suspicions on who you thought Shadow was, what details led to you forming those suspicions, and what you did with them (if you dismissed them, then for what reason?/If you kept them, then why?).**

 **S/N: If you're still confused, here's something to help:**

 **A/N: Everyone, real or otherwise, has a little Shadow in the dark recesses of their mind that tells them to do what society considers illegal, taboo, or forbidden. Some people listen to this Shadow and let themselves be controlled by them; more often than not, those people just want to watch the world burn.**

 **S/N: However, like everything else, there is an exception. This "exception" would be willing to give in to hate so everyone else can love. SAO's Shadow is the very embodiment of that exception: bearing all the weight so the innocent can breathe easily.**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

"A-Arctic?" The name was said by everyone standing on that platform. By all accounts, they should have been excited, even elated. And yet, the name was...foreign, almost as if the name didn't belong to the familiarly-clad player.

And why wouldn't it? The player that everyone looked up to, the one who led them…

Had _mis_ led them this whole time.

The aforementioned player said nothing; instead, he looked at the blade in his hand; a one-handed longsword with a serrated edge. The entirety of the sword was black, almost―no, _exactly_ ―as if it was crafted from pure darkness.

Hence the blade's name: _The Darkness Blade_. A unique skill feared by all on the front lines, not just because of the underlying malice in the name, but because of _how_ it was obtained.

 _Given to the player who killed the most other players in the game_.

Without a word, Arctic sheathed the Darkness Blade in the place of where the Sword of Shadows used to be; he said nothing as he felt his world darken around the edges, then return to light.

"Yeah," Arctic stated. "It's me."

Skye stepped forward uneasily. "What happened to you?"

He turned to face her. "I lost Takano. To escape the grief and the pain, I accepted the armor Kayaba gave me. It changed my entire being." Without another word, he walked past the crowd in front of him.

"Is that him?"

"Who's that?"

"Our old leader."

"Wait. The guy whose sword is―?"

"Yeah. That guy."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Arctic said to the recruit, turning to face him. The recruit shuddered at the cold stare being given to him. "I don't know what Solar and Skye told you about me, but _that_ Arctic―the one who thought everyone can get out alive―died along with _her_. This is who I am, now.

"For further confirmation, ask Lizbeth. She'll tell you everything." Arctic took out his Grey Star and teleported in a gray haze. Wherever he went, only a select few knew. And they knew as well that where he went…

Was off-limits to everyone.

 **(x)**

"I can't believe it," Solar muttered as he sat on his bed in his room. _Arctic was Shadow._ How didn't he see it?! He looked up when he heard a knock on his open door.

"Hey," Lizbeth said, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. "D'you mind if I come in?"

"Not at all. I need to ask you something; it concerns Arctic."

Liz sighed and sat down on the bed next to Solar. "What do you want to know?"

"Did you know?"

Liz blinked. "Um, excuse me?"

"Did you know that Arctic was Shadow?"

"...Yeah. I knew," Liz said while looking down.

Solar looked at his hands resting on his lap before clenching them into fists. _That bastard…_ Solar growled to himself. Liz took notice of this and put a hand on the leader's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he tell _us_?! WHY?!"

"You're one to talk, Solar," Liz calmly replied, removing her hand from his shoulder. "Did you tell anyone _else_ how you got the Quick Draw?" Solar's action of looking down in silence told Liz everything she needed to know. "My point exactly."

"But he said it himself: we were _brothers_. And brothers don't keep secrets from one another."

"And like _I_ said, you shouldn't be saying anything. Everyone needs to keep at least _one_ secret; the world will go to chaos if everyone was completely honest with each other."

"I guess you're right…" Solar sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He turned to look at the blacksmith. "How do you do it?"

"I don't follow."

"How do you get everyone to trust you with their secrets? Is there something I should know, or what?"

Liz winked. "That's a secret."

"Shit, you're good," the leader chuckled. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Liz. I would've forgiven him eventually, but it would've been later than this." He pulled her into a hug, which she returned. He pulled back and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Go help everyone else, now, if you can."

Liz nodded, then left the room, determined to complete the task Solar had given her.

 **(x)**

Skye screamed as she punched the wall with all her might. The stinging pain that erupted in her arm was quickly blurred out by the indescribable rage she felt. She turned her head when she heard someone enter the room. "Hey, Liz," she said through gritted teeth. Liz said nothing as she simply sat on Skye's bed and patted the spot next to her. The tactician huffed as she sat down next to the blacksmith. "I don't want your help."

"No," Lizbeth agreed. "You _need_ it. Whatever questions you have, I'll answer them."

"How long have you known?"

"Since January."

"How?"

"He needed me to fix an item for him. I wouldn't have helped him if he never told me."

"Why did he tell you? No offense, but...why not us? Why not Solar? Why not _me?!_ "

"None taken. And I guess it's because he wasn't ready to return as himself yet. You feel better now?"

"...Somewhat. Still need to vent."

"Why don't you punch him next time you see him?" Liz chuckled at the joke she made.

"...Y'know, I'll do just that."

"U-um, actually, Skye, I was―"

"Thanks, Liz!" Skye said while hugging Liz, the blacksmith just patting her friend on her back. When Skye pulled away, she told the blacksmith, "You're a godsend, you know that?"

"No problem, Skye. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe there are others who need to vent."

"Go help them, then."

Liz walked out of the room and into the next one.

 **(x)**

Akira sat on her bed, her hand under her chin in thought. When the axe-user heard a knock on her door, she got up to open it. When she did, she motioned for the blacksmith to enter. "You need to vent?" Liz asked as she sat down next to where Akira was sitting.

Akira nodded as she sat down next to Liz. As she sat down, she sighed. "He called us his family, and yet, he kept a secret _this_ big from all of us," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I just want to know why."

"Well," Liz started, drawing Akira's attention to herself, "everyone has a secret. Or, at least, has to have a secret. Don't you?" Akira shook her head. "Okay, so you're one person. Compare yourself to the billions of people in the world who _do_ have secrets. If everyone was brutally honest with each other all the time, then the whole world as we know it would descend into chaos."

"I get where you're coming from, Liz. But it's the principle. You knew his secret, right?" Liz nodded. "My point exactly. If he can afford to share it with one person, he can sure as hell share it with a bunch of other people; people who can keep secrets."

"That's not the point." Liz placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, looking Akira straight in the eye. "If anyone _major_ knew, then his secret would have spread like a wildfire, and he would've been exposed, and hated even more than he is now. _Arctic_ would've been seen as a killer, and if people knew that the former leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance was a killer, then their faith in this guild would've been lost. You know what I mean?" Akira slowly nodded. "We can just sit here, and ponder on the past. _Or_ we can forgive him, and look past his errors. No matter what he says, the fact is that he's only human. A person forced to endure so much more pain than he should've. He's bound to make errors, major _and_ minor. Your boyfriend's already forgiven him. Why can't you?"

Akira pondered on Liz's words for a couple of minutes, while the blacksmith patiently waited. Finally, Akira looked at Liz, and smiled. "You're right. I don't know how you do it, but you always find a way to defuse a situation. Thanks, Liz." Akira pulled Liz into a hug, which was returned. She pulled back and looked Liz right in the eyes. "Go see how the others are doing, and help them like you helped me. Help them _understand_. Help them forgive him."

Liz nodded as she got up and walked out of the room, satisfied that she helped another one of her friends out.

 **(x)**

"Yo!" Liz said as she walked into the room Cupid and Eros shared. "How're you guys handling the news?"

"Not as bad as she is," Cupid replied, pointing to the fuming Eros.

"That bastard!" said archer/swordswoman growled out.

Liz sat in between the two friends. "Both of you. Talk to me. Now."

"I always saw Arctic as the living definition of optimism. He was always headstrong, and willing to help _anyone_ , which was a good reason why he was the leader. Then again, after the love of his life died, it makes sense that he'd change in some way―just not on _that_ big a scale," Cupid monologued.

"I always saw him as a...a hero of sorts. He gave off that aura, and it just made you feel that everything wrong in the world would be right someday. Now, though...I don't know what to think about him. I mean, with Shadow, you still felt safe, but you also felt that nothing would change, in this world or the next. It was such a complete 180 from Arctic's personality, so the two couldn't have been the same person. Now, I found out that the hero lied to those who looked up to him for the past year. It pisses me off so much," Eros ranted.

"Like I told Skye, why don't you punch him the next time you see him?" Liz suggested. "It'll help you blow off some steam."

"I think I'll do that. Thanks, Liz. I needed to get that off of my chest," Eros smiled.

"Me too. What would we do without you?" Cupid smiled as well.

Liz smiled back at the duo and pulled them into a group hug. When they pulled back, she stood up. "I gotta go see if there's anyone else that needs comforting," the blacksmith explained as she left the room.

"Good luck!" Eros called.

"Take care!" Cupid managed to say before the door closed.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 66: Grandzam**

 **Knights of the Blood Oath Headquarters**

Kirito was silent as he looked down, the shadows covering his eyes. "Who do you think knew?" he quietly asked the vice commander of the K.O.B., who shrugged in response.

"I don't know. What I _do_ know is that we shouldn't hold it against him."

"How could you say that?" Kirito demanded of Asuna. "He _lied_ to us. He said he _trusted_ us. If he did, then why didn't he tell us sooner?!"

"..." Asuna remained silent as she pondered over her next choice of words. "Maybe," she finally said, causing the beater to focus his attention on her, "it's because he changed―in a way that he didn't want anybody he knew to see him differently. Had _I_ known he was Shadow, don'tcha think my treatment of him would've changed?"

"But it _did_ change. Before, you couldn't trust him― _no one_ could've. He always did what he wanted, and now I bet everyone sees him as a killer, not a savior. And recently, you've been helping him _before_ all this. Why?"

"Because…" Asuna bit her lip. "Because remembering what he did at Floor 67, what I felt looking at him, A Hero's End...it was a punch to the gut, but it gave me a reminder:

"That despite all he's done, despite all he's capable of, and despite what he says…he's only a teenager. A 16-year-old with much more grief, anger, sorrow, and regret than all of us combined. And all because he lost his happiness―his _innocence_ ―in SAO. You get it now?"

"...Yeah," Kirito finally said, looking at Asuna. "I guess you're right. After all, we _did_ get farther with him, Arctic or Shadow. And who knows? There could've been others; he just drew the short straw."

Asuna smiled. "So you forgive him?"

Kirito smiled back. "Yeah." He stood up and stretched. "I should head home now."

"Stay safe," Asuna replied, walking him to the door and opening it for him.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." As Kirito left, he looked back. _Wonder what's gotten into_ her.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 17: A Hero's End…**

Arctic was sitting on the rock, his eyes closed in thinking. _What now? I can't just go asking people for forgiveness. No doubt, they all hate me. Wouldn't blame them._

"Y'know, you looked better in black." He opened his eyes upon hearing the familiar voice with the ever-so-present amused lilt lacing it.

"And you look better in silver," Arctic replied, taking note of Bella's white cloak as she walked up to him from the side. "Should I even bother asking how you got past the barrier?"

"My answer will only serve to confuse you."

"I'm sure it will." Arctic sighed as he looked back down, barely registering the sound of Bella sitting down next to him. "What'll happen now?" he finally asked after hours of silence, looking towards the white-clad Silver Shadow.

"Don't ask me," Bella replied. "I'm just a stranger you told your identity to; you never told me you're the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance."

" _Was_ the leader. I gave Solar a note telling him he was leader before I left. Before I became a Shadow of my former self."

"Regardless, that shouldn't change the way people see you."

"And how _do_ they see me?"

"A savior. A symbol of justice. A hero. Should I go on?"

"No. They saw _Shadow_ as those things. And now, after everyone saw the other side of their hero? They only see me as a monster. As a killer.

"And why shouldn't they? I killed the most players in the game, Bella. The guy before me―the incentive to my becoming Shadow―was far worse. But I killed him, and as he told me: All of the blood on his hands, the blood that deemed him eligible for the _Darkness Blade,_ is on mine. I'm no different than he is." Arctic drew in a shuddering breath. "I just don't know what to do anymore," he whispered quietly, so much so that Bella barely heard him. What she _did_ hear, however, was the broken tone in his voice.

The female player was taken aback. From what she's seen, and what Kirito told her, Arctic and Shadow both never lost hope that everyone can get out. And she was fairly confident that Shadow only became a mercenary to help people _and_ boost his stats along the way. So seeing the player who was both Arctic and Shadow, broken and feeling he's beyond saving…

Didn't fit him.

Arctic was not at all prepared for the female player to pull him into a hug. "What are you doing?" he asked, uncomfortable with his friend's actions.

"What does it look like?" Bella softly asked.

"You pulled me into a hug," Arctic stated, struggling to get out of said hug. "Which I didn't ask for."

"So? One can never be too old for a hug," the older player replied, tightening her grip. Arctic didn't respond, instead opting to lean into the embrace. "At the end of the day, there will always be blood spilled. All we can do is decide if it belongs to an innocent or not. Trust me when I say that everything will be all right."

"I hope so. God, I hope so." He moved his mournful blue eyes to look into Bella's fierce quicksilver ones. "You wanna know something?"

"What?" Bella smiled kindly at the younger teen.

"You remind me of my older sister. When I was younger, she would always do the exact same thing you're doing, or something along the lines of such, and just tell me everything would be alright."

"She sounds nice."

"She is. Whenever something would happen, little or otherwise, she always stopped what she was doing and would rush to help me and my younger sister. And in my life, everything always went wrong." Bella stared into Arctic's now-hardened blue eyes.

"How?" was her only question.

"When I was eight years old, my parents left me. No hugs, no goodbyes; just a note on the kitchen table and my older sister's sad expression. Last day of school, too." He chuckled, a silent and cold noise that turned the blood in Bella's veins to ice. "I bet they don't even know their son's in a coma. I bet they wouldn't even care."

"What about your younger sister? I'm sure they would've stayed for _her_."

"Why would they? She didn't come into my family till I was 10. She was 7, and her actual parents died in a plane crash. Hell, she didn't even see me as a decent human being for the next three years.

"Then when she was 11, she was being harassed by a group of bullies. I had to pick her up, because Onee-chan was working late. I found her and took down said group of bullies. Since then, she's always looked up to me and wants to become as strong as I am."

Bella remained silent while her friend recounted his life in the real world. "Tell me more about your older sister."

"She was the best; like I said, she was always willing to help others, and she's smart enough to know when someone's lying to her. And when I was younger, I always had nightmares; sometimes they were so intense, I would wake up screaming. My onee-chan would just rush into my room, and hug me while singing a song. It always calmed me down, and…" Arctic sniffed as tears started forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just miss my sisters so much. I started this game without them, and that turned out to be a double-edged sword."

Bella chuckled sadly. "Pun intended?"

"Entirely. But I digress. I started without them, and I'm always scared; scared that I'll die; scared that I won't want to leave; scared that I'll leave them alone, especially my imouto. I don't know _what_ she'll do without me." At that point, the former mercenary finally broke, the tears streaming down his face as Bella hugged him even tighter.

The Silver Shadow did her damndest to ignore the surge of emotions rising within her. To know that someone like Shadow―like _Arctic_ ―had suffered so much more in his real life, and had virtually no one older, familial or otherwise, to guide him...broke her heart. And all the while, she understood the pain of her family leaving her, and she was sure as hell all too familiar with the feeling of leaving one's family behind.

And it made you feel like a bitch.

"I understand," Bella whispered to the silently crying player. "It's okay. Just let it out."

Eventually, the tears finally stopped, and Arctic raised his head to look at Bella. "Why?" he whispered to the other player.

"Because someone like you doesn't deserve this," she responded, motioning to the weapons planted in a clockwise motion. "Because you needed to vent. Not as Shadow; but as Arctic."

Arctic nodded sadly and gently broke away from the embrace, Bella allowing him to do so. "Thanks for being here, Bella. Thanks for listening," he said, standing up and stretching.

Bella smiled, standing up and stretching as well. "I'm always here for you, Arctic. And you wanna know something?"

"Hm?" The former mercenary turned to stare at the Silver Shadow. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"I'm so used to seeing you with nightmarish red eyes, your blue eyes are actually unsettling to me," she said while laughing.

Arctic smiled and laughed as well. "That white cloak hurts my eyes more than your silver one," he shot back.

"Fair point." Bella removed her hands from his shoulders and looked around. "Now, can you let me leave?"

"...You got _in_ here _without_ a 'Fuck the rules' crystal, and you can't get _out_ without one?" Arctic incredulously asked.

"I didn't make the game," Bella said while laughing.

"No, you didn't. I'll take you back. Just say where."

"Floor 50."

"Any reason why?"

"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you."

"I get the feeling you're not joking."

"I'm not."

"Right. I'd tell you to close your eyes, but you went through more than enough pain to endure what you see, and you wouldn't listen."

"You know me so well."

"Grab on." Arctic held his left hand out to Bella, the right hand holding the Grey Star. Bella took his hand and they both teleported to Bella's desired location.

 **Floor 50: Crossing Fields**

The two players warped, Bella staggering slightly when she let go of the Star's wielder. "Oh my god, that was a rush," she said once she found her footing.

"Y'know, Kirito said the exact same thing."

"Did he, now?" Bella looked around the field the two were in. "Well, this is my stop. Hope you get better, honestly."

"I hope so, too. Give Kirito my regards."

"Will do." Bella gave Arctic another hug, one he gladly returned, and pulled away after a few seconds.

Arctic held his Grey Star in his right hand and waved goodbye to Bella with his left. "Goodbye, Bella."

As he teleported away, Bella sighed as she turned around and began to walk away. "Goodbye...Shadow."

 **(x)**

 **Floor 52: Gothamopolis**

 **(S/N: If you get the reference, let us know in the reviews or PM us. Your choice.)**

Arctic appeared in a flash in front of the guild house. He sighed as he thought about what could happen. First, he thought about how he would approach them. It wasn't like he could just walk in and expect hugs and kisses. He took a breath, then walked towards the front doors.

When he reached them, he knocked once before the door opened. "Hey. What can I help you wi―" Solar said as he opened the door and saw who it was. The two leaders stared at each other for a couple more seconds. "You came back."

Arctic nodded. "Yup. Can I come in?"

"It's best you don't. Let's talk out here." Solar stepped out of the house, closing the door behind him. The two began walking around the empty courtyard. "Why are you here? I'm not being rude; I just want to know...why?"

"I wanted to apologize. For everything. For leaving you take care of the guild. For lying to everyone about being Shadow. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't punched me at this point, or at least, y'know, blown up."

"I want to. But, thankfully, Liz helped me see sense." Solar chuckled. "I can see why you told _her_ , by the way. She really knows how to keep a secret."

"Yeah," Arctic chuckled as well.

"Anyway, before we go back inside, I wanted to ask you: did you really mean it when you said that we were brothers?"

Arctic nodded. "I never had a brother, so that's why you felt like one to me."

" _I_ had a brother. He died a couple years ago, so family is still a sensitive topic for me."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. The point is that brothers _shouldn't_ keep secrets from each other. They can, but it would make the other feel bad as hell, and not the good kind of bad. I understand why you became Shadow. I forgive you."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"Regardless, you're getting it. Before we go back, I want to ask you." Solar stopped and placed his hands on his pseudo-brother's shoulders. "Do you want to join the Tri-Blade Alliance?"

Arctic was silent, apparently taken aback by this request. Finally, he replied, "Won't I make your guild look bad, though?"

Solar smiled. "My friend, you underestimate how fast people can forgive and forget. Well, maybe not forget, but certainly forgive." Solar removed his hands from Arctic's shoulders and opened his menu, sending him a guild request. Arctic smiled and accepted, the guild's symbol appearing on his HP bar. "I just have one more question."

"Didn't Liz already tell you everything?" Arctic asked as the two walked back to the guild house.

"Yeah, but I don't think even she can answer this."

"Shoot, then."

"When you were Shadow, how did Klein revive you?"

Arctic stopped and faced Solar. He then pointed downwards. "In Floor 22, right where you met Shadow, there's a glitch that only works if you're wearing certain sets of armor, and if that armor has a name, if you say that armor's name―or part of it, at least―then that name will be registered as your own until you refer to yourself by your _actual_ username."

"...Right. Has that been fixed?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Just wondering." Solar sighed as he turned to face the door. "Also because we checked that stone in the Town of Beginnings. Y'know, the one with everyone's name on it. I guess now I know why your name disappeared after you introduced yourself as Shadow." Solar stopped in front of the doors, and turned to look at Arctic. "I have a serious question now."

Arctic raised an eyebrow. "Ask away."

"Do you want it?"

"...Want what?"

"The leader position. Do you want it back?"

Arctic shook his head. "I made you leader for a reason." He gestured to the courtyard, then to the guild house. " _This_ was all you and Skye. I didn't do a damn thing. You were a far better leader than I could be. Besides, if people still hate me, maybe being the Tri-Blade's leader wouldn't be good for me _or_ the guild."

Solar nodded. He opened the door and gestured for the guild's newest/oldest member to enter its doors. As himself for the first time. "Welcome back, Arctic. We missed you."

Arctic smiled. It wasn't an empty and cold smile, like Shadow would normally give. It was a genuine Arctic smile. "I missed you guys, too."

 **(x)**

 **A/N: This chapter, honestly, was quite depressing to write, and even more so to beta for Solar. Still, one can't help but wonder what happens next.**

 **S/N: Till next time!**

 **A/N: And as always, Read And Review!**


	23. Chapter 23: Redemption

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 23: Redemption**

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update. I was also working on the next two chapters. Enjoy.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**

" _ **Darkness dialogue"**_

 **(x)**

"LEMME AT HIM!"

"CALM DOWN, YOU TWO!" Solar shouted as he and Akira held Skye back, while Cupid and Pearce held Eros back, the two girls looking like they're ready to stab someone.

That someone, also known as Arctic, was pushed up against the wall as a result of this. "It's alright," he assured the other four. "I deserve every bit of it."

Reluctantly, Solar and Akira released Skye first, who briskly walked up to Arctic and decked him across the face. While the latter stood there in slight shock, he turned to face the former. "You calm now?"

"Yep," Skye replied. She stepped back to let Eros have her shot. When she was released, Eros walked up to the former leader in the same manner as Skye and sent an even harder punch to the opposite cheek, causing everyone watching to wince.

"I nearly forgot I was training you," Arctic said through the pain.

" _Shadow_ was training me," Eros curtly corrected.

"Okay. I deserved that, too."

"Damn right you did." The archer/swordswoman hugged her punching bag. "Don't _ever_ pull stuff like that again."

"Don't pull your punches," Arctic replied, hugging her back. Once the two ended the hug, Skye hugged Arctic even harder.

"Don't you dare leave again," she warned, tightening her hold.

"Got it," Arctic said, slightly choking at the lack of oxygen, opting to return the hug. "Can you let me go? The lack of oxygen is making me lightheaded."

"Sorry." Skye released Arctic, and Solar stepped forward.

"You want your room back?" he asked his pseudo-brother.

"Please."

 **(x)**

 **The Next Day**

 **Floor 66: Grandzam**

 **K.O.B. Headquarters**

"Okay, everyone," Solar said to all front-line fighters present while planting his hands onto the table in front of him. "How in _the hell_ are we gonna take down this boss?"

"Well, for starters," Asuna stated, following Solar's example. "We should go over what we know."

"Alright. What we know is that this is an even more cancerous field boss than Sheeptar, and its name is 'Deadeye'. It's more or less a behemoth, and its armor will be _very_ hard to get past."

"Is that all?" Skye asked. When the two leaders nodded, she sighed. "Then there _are_ some things Argo doesn't know. Is there anyone else who has anything to share?" Kirito stepped forward.

"I think I have something," he said. He pointed to a spot on the map on the table. "The boss's lair is around this area. I've done some scouting, and the boss can't see from its right side. If we put the archers around that area, we can repeatedly strike it in its blind spot." Kirito, and everyone else, chuckled at the Black Swordsman's joke.

"Good plan," Asuna said. "But there's a flaw. We'll need a distraction. And we're _not_ going to waste any of our men. We'll need a solo player―preferably _not_ you."

"Why not me?"

"'Cause then, you'll make everyone else look bad," Skye stated.

"Right. And where _is_ Arctic, exactly?"

"He...didn't want to come," Skye said somewhat nervously.

"Shame. He would've been a _really_ valuable source of info," Asuna said. "Could've made a good distraction, too."

"Hey! You can't go in there!" a voice rang outside. Recognizing it as the voice of one of the guards outside, everyone tensed.

"Why not?" Arctic's voice shot back. "I know the commander of the K.O.B."

The door opened, and Arctic walked through. Looking around at the numerous faces staring back at him, the former mercenary sighed to himself. _Knew it was a bad idea to show up_.

Just as he turned to leave...

He was surprised to hear the immeasurable cheers the players gave him. When he turned back around, it was to everyone smiling and clapping; even Kirito and Asuna seemed genuinely happy to see him again.

"Welcome back!"

"You're the best, man!"

"Thanks for everything!"

"My wife wants your autograph!"

Arctic chuckled and smiled. "Nice to know you all love me."

"We've always loved you," Kirito stated. "There's no way we can forget you."

"Get up here and help us!" Asuna called to him.

When Arctic walked up to the table, his only question was, "Field boss?"

"Deadeye," everyone responded.

"Oh." Arctic's eyes narrowed. "What do you want to know?"

When Kirito overlayed his strategy to the hero, Arctic raised his eyebrows. "Not a bad strategy," he said. "But you'll need a distraction. A solo player would be best. Since you'll be attacking the boss, the next best choice will be me."

"That's right," Asuna said. "And we feel you can be invaluable now, because of all the info and items you may have."

"No problem. And Kirito, I think we should place the archers on the left side, so the tanks and melee fighters can blindside it from its blind side."

"...Yeah, that can actually work. Do you know where Deadeye's lair is?"

"There," Arctic immediately replied, pointing to the exact same spot Kirito pointed to earlier. "How soon should we attack it?"

"As soon as we're finished preparing."

"Understandably. Now, how―"

"Wait up!" a voice shouted. Everyone turned to the source: a lancer wearing black armor. "Why should we listen to _you_?!" he continued, pointing towards Arctic. "Last I checked, you're a killer!"

"So? Didn't we all kill someone at least once?"

"True. But _your_ body count is higher than all of ours!"

At that moment, Arctic felt his world blacken, before it was restored. During this, his vision was in negative colors, but he could see everyone's cursor colors clearly. The guy who's speaking…

 _Is orange._

Because his hood was up, nobody saw Arctic's eyes blacken over. They did, however, note his malicious smile and change in tone. " _ **If you've got a problem, then how 'bout we duel? You can set the rules.**_ "

The lancer chuckled arrogantly. "Sure, buddy." He sent Arctic a duel request. When the hero read over the rules, he accepted. ' _The duel ends when the loser is at half their max HP.'_

The crowd cleared an area for the two fighters, curious as to what'll happen next. "You made a grave mistake facing me, friend. I'm one of the best," the lancer boasted as the timer counted down.

" _ **No, you're not. Kirito and Asuna are over there, the Tri-Bladers are over there, and**_ **I'm** _ **fighting you.**_ "

"...You're going down."

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

 _Begin!_

It happened so fast, almost nobody caught it. Arctic rushed the lancer the second the duel began, jumped up and landed on his head with one hand, twisted and slashed his neck with the Darkness Blade, then landed behind the lancer with his head in his hand. He threw it back boredly, the head lodging back in place.

When Arctic left the room, the lancer fell to his knees. His head rolled off as the body fell over, the limb and corpse shattering.

"...Boss?" Pearce nervously said, his tone reflecting everyone's terror.

"Yeah, Pearce?" Solar uneasily asked.

"That dude scares me."

"He's starting to scare me, too."

Asuna growled and walked out of the room to pursue after Arctic.

 **(x)**

"What happened in there?!" Asuna demanded, walking up to Arctic, his back to the K.O.B. vice commander. He turned to face her.

"He was orange," the player-in-question calmly answered. "I don't know how, but I saw it―clear as day."

"Right. And how did you kill him, despite the duel's rules?"

"There's a reason why the Darkness Blade is feared. It can ignore _all_ rules that keep players safe, and it always has a chance to kill; something shared by both the weapon _and_ skill."

"Next time, just call them out. I'll go back and defuse the situation."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. We'll see you at the boss fight?"

"Sure. I'll head there now. Don't worry, I'm not going to engage him without you guys."

"Thanks." With that, Asuna ran back into the room.

Arctic sighed as he turned and began walking. If he was going to get there first, he may as well take his time getting there. _Besides, if I teleport_ everywhere, _I wouldn't have time to enjoy the small things in Aincrad. If I'm going to be here for God knows how long, I may as well have fun._

While he walked through the fields and headed to the designated waypoint, as marked by a very stealthy player that was _not_ Arctic or Shadow, he killed a couple mobs, and realized how much he missed not having to go all out in every fight. _Why did I ever give this up?_ Arctic asked himself as he got EXP from killing a Dire Wolf.

When he finally got to Deadeye's lair, he looked around, seeing no one in sight. Shrugging, Arctic looked around some more for a tree to lay in. His eyes lit up when he saw a shaded tree, then walked up to it and looked up to see if there was anything in the shaded branch. Satisfied that there was nothing there, he jumped up and relaxed. All he had to do now was wait.

 **(x)**

"Where is he?" Eros asked the leaders as they approached Deadeye's lair. "I thought he got here before we did?"

"That's what he told me," Asuna replied as she looked around. Finally, her eyes rested on a shaded tree, and she smiled. "Old habits die hard, huh, Shadow?" Asuna went over to the tree and looked up. She smiled even more when she saw Arctic sleeping peacefully for a change. She reached up and poked him. "Get up. It's time."

Arctic stirred awake, then snapped awake fully when he saw the vice commander. He jumped down and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry. I walked here, and you guys took a while, so I took the opportunity to sleep for a bit."

"Feel better?"

"Honestly? Yeah, I do." Arctic stretched. "Let's get this boss raid started."

"Remember: you're the distraction. Lure the boss out, then we all fight."

"Got it. And if I may: after I get it out, close the doors. Don't give it the opportunity to retreat." Asuna nodded, and the two walked back over to the group.

"Hey, man. You ready?" Solar asked the "distraction". Arctic nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I may need it." With that, the former leader/mercenary walked into the dark cave.

 **(x)**

"Alright, you ugly bastard," Arctic muttered. "Where are you?" Due to the lack of light in the cave, Arctic took out a torch and lit it…

Only to be face-to-face with a sleeping Deadeye.

The "distraction" jumped back in alarm, and took the time to analyze the boss fully.

Deadeye was truly a behemoth; its body was massive, spanning throughout the entire cavern, which was surprisingly deep. The behemoth was purple, and it had horns, unsurprisingly. What was surprising was the broken shard that was in the place of the right horn, and the scar running down the right eye, which was closed. _The boss isn't_ too _horny, apparently._

Cautiously, Arctic opened the right eye, and was relieved to see that the boss was indeed half-blind; its right eye was completely colorless, indicating complete blindness in said eye. He closed it and walked over to the left eye.

When he opened it, Deadeye looked around its surroundings, before focusing on the player in front of him. Its good eye narrowed in pure anger as it sat up and roared.

 **(x)**

Kirito sighed as he checked the time. _5:00 already?_ "What's taking him so long?" he asked out loud.

"Dunno. But there's no way he could have died, right?" Eros asked nervously.

"SHIT!" Arctic cried out as he was knocked out of Deadeye's lair. The behemoth stepped out, its head poking out, as it roared. Everyone got ready to attack, until Arctic shouted, "WAIT!" Still tense, everyone lowered their weapons. Arctic cautiously put a hand on his back, where his sword would normally be. Instead, everyone saw an extremely faint shadow of something that wasn't even there. And yet, Arctic was drawing his pitch black blade from its shadow sheath.

Upon seeing the Darkness Blade, Deadeye roared and retreated back inside the cave. Deciding to experiment, Arctic sheathed his blade again, and the behemoth stepped back out. "Get to the right," Arctic lowly said. " _All_ of you. And get ready to close the doors."

After everyone followed the former leader's orders, Arctic stepped back again, prompting the boss to step out fully. It stood on its two hind legs and roared at the sky.

As its name and HP bars appeared, Arctic screamed as he rushed the boss. Deadeye slammed a hand down on where Arctic stood, and the hero dodged and ran up the arm, reaching it head, where he jumped up high. Arctic stabbed downwards at the exposed flesh of its right eye―only for his blade to bounce off like rubber upon contact. "EXCUSE ME?!"

Deadeye gave the hero something akin to a rather terrifying smirk as it shook its head side-to-side, shaking Arctic off.

"Close the doors!" he instructed. A second after he said that, two fully charged arrows hit the cave behind Deadeye, causing an explosion that created a cave-in. When the behemoth focused its attention back to Arctic, it looked around, as its prey disappeared.

Then, a flurry of arrows hit Deadeye from its left side, forcing it to turn and swipe at the approaching archers. It wasn't ready for the numerous axes, maces, and hammers to collide with its right side.

Soon, Deadeye was getting ambushed from all sides, and everyone was getting frustrated at how little HP the behemoth was losing. "What is its defense?!" Pearce asked aloud, exasperated. Nobody was able to reply, as Deadeye roared, knocking everyone back.

Solar grunted as he got back up. Scanning his surroundings, he found dozens of red barrels focused at certain parts of the field.

His first thought was, _Why?_ His second thought was, _Wait a minute…_

Luckily for him, Pearce and Cupid landed beside him; Pearce stopped himself hard, and Cupid planted her lance in the ground to prevent herself from sliding further. He put his hands on their shoulders and pointed to the barrels. They immediately caught on to his plan and charged two arrows, Cupid switching to her bow.

Solar dashed to Arctic and Eros, both of whom were getting back up. "Distract it!" Solar shouted to his best friend, and pulled Eros aside. The leader pointed to the barrels. "Lure it over there," he said. The swordswoman nodded and rushed after Deadeye, running side-by-side with Arctic.

The two charged the boss, repeatedly striking it from every angle, forcing Deadeye back into the barrel.

Pearce And Cupid fired their arrows, striking the barrel and causing it to explode, an action that took out one-and-a-half of Deadeye's five bars. Everyone cheered at the massive amount of damage dealt. "Knock it into the barrels!" Asuna shouted.

"Archers, get ready to fire!" Solar shouted after her.

"Arctic!" The hero turned to see Skye running up to him. "Knock it into the barrels," she instructed.

"Done and done." Arctic raised his blade to his face and charged up a black sword skill.

He turned and met Deadeye's swipe with one of his own, knocking the boss back. The former mercenary took advantage of this moment and slashed at the boss, every strike hitting true to its mark.

Deadeye roared and grabbed a boulder. It turned and chucked it at Cupid, who didn't see the rock hurtling towards her. "LOOK OUT!" everyone screamed.

The archer/lancer turned to see the boulder coming towards her at mach speed. She quickly braced herself for the impact…

Which never came, replaced by the feeling of pebbles spraying on her face. She looked in front of her to see Solar, sword in front of him as if he had cut through something. "You alright?" he asked the female lancer.

"I'm fine," she replied. Upon hearing a sound of impact, everyone looked towards the poor object/player. _Oh, shit_ …

The tree that Arctic was resting in earlier?

Everyone watched it shatter into a million polygons. Arctic watched in shock and horror as his temporary haven was destroyed in front of his eyes.

Arctic growled and equipped his scythe, the familiar purplish flames rising from his hands. He dashed past Solar and Cupid. " **MOVE**!" he shouted to the fighters in front of him, with all of them dodging to the side. Deadeye roared and swiped his clawed hand at Arctic, who deflected it with a mighty swing of his scythe. He immediately spun around and twirled Blood Rose, slicing Deadeye at a speed that surpassed his already ungodly battle speed. He quickly turned and punched the behemoth with a charged martial arts strike, sending it flying and crash-landing near a red barrel.

Immediately, Cupid launched an arrow she had been charging. "This is for trying to kill me, you bastard," she said under her breath once she let the arrow fly.

The resulting explosion sent Deadeye's HP down to two bars. The behemoth roared as its body was suddenly covered in scaly armor plating. When Solar slashed the boss, he was outraged to learn that the boss took no damage. He jumped back to avoid an attack.

After noticing the boss's exposed underbelly, Arctic suddenly formed a plan. He wasn't proud of it, but it would do some damage, and answer a question he had in mind.

He re-equipped his longsword and charged the boss from the front. Dodging an attack from Deadeye, he slid under the boss while charging a darkness skill. He then stabbed and dragged his blade across...well, let it be known that Arctic knew at that point that Deadeye was a "he."

The boss actually whimpered as he held his package in pain that ones and zeros couldn't replicate. When Arctic slid out behind the boss, he stood up and looked at his sword in disgust. _When this is over, I'm taking a bottle of Mystic Fire to this._

That attack dropped Deadeye's HP to a mere sliver. However, that meant that its armor was impenetrable. The boss roared in triumph as dozens upon dozens of arrows, lances, and spears bounced off it. "Should we try the barrels again?" Eros asked when she jumped back to Kirito and Asuna.

"Um," Skye pointed out once she stopped sliding back, "I don't think they'll work."

"And why not?" Asuna asked worriedly as she faced the boss.

"Because I don't think _red_ barrels are supposed to be _white_ ," Kirito stated, pointing at the barrels, which were indeed white.

Judging from the steam rising from them, Asuna deduced that they froze over, rendering them useless. "Dammit! What now?" she growled.

Skye looked around for a solution...and noticed the sparkling aura around Deadeye's good horn. Without a word, she dashed forward, meeting Arctic along the way. "Boost me up!" she instructed, pointing to her intended target.

Putting two-and-two together, Arctic stopped, got down into an Olympic running position, and rocketed forward, grabbing the arm Skye outstretched towards him and throwing her upwards after gaining enough momentum.

Skye jumped onto Deadeye's head and put her hands on its horn. With all her strength, she ripped the horn right off and jumped up high to dodge the hand Deadeye tried to slam her with. She screamed as she thrust the horn downwards, the horn glowing white the second she drove it through Deadeye's good eye.

The boss roared in pain as its killer stabbed through its body. Deadeye fell to the floor, causing a minor tremor. Everyone cheered as the boss shattered and Skye stabbed the horn into the ground. Everyone got a massive reward and EXP, more so Arctic, Solar, Cupid, Pearce, and Skye. The female responsible for the victory stood up―and promptly shuddered in disgust.

Arctic ran up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You got out through the balls, didn't you?"

"Yep."

"I'll run a hot bath for you later."

"Can you also clean my armor?"

"Mystic Fire does amazing things."

"Thanks." Arctic patted her shoulder and walked away. Skye looked at the horn in her hand.

The horn wasn't a horn anymore; instead, it was a sword. Like a katana, there was no pommel, but the sword itself was far from a katana. The handle of the double-edged blade was an off-white color, and the blade was a stormy grey color with a solid black outline. There was a ribbon wrapped around the handle, and the ribbon was an appealing yellow color. _Deadeye's Horn? S-Class, classified as a Tanto Machete, yet it's a one-handed longsword...Looks nice,_ Deadeye's killer thought to herself as she looked over the blade. She unequipped her current sword and equipped her new one.

"Great job, everyone!" Solar shouted. "You all helped in completing a huge task today! This couldn't have been possible without you!"

" _But_ we couldn't have done it if we didn't have Arctic's help!" Asuna said. Everyone cheered after the vice commander spoke this statement.

"True. Arctic...GET OVER HERE!"

"Yo," Arctic's voice said behind the group. After everyone let out a _very_ manly scream, he rolled his eyes and smirked. "Smooth. Real smooth."

 **(x)**

After Skye had gone to take the bath Arctic had drawn for her, he turned his attention to his Darkness Blade and Skye's armor. He took out a bottle of Mystic Fire and opened it. Holding it over his sword, he let a single drop of the purifying flame fall onto his blade. The blade shone upon contact with the fire, and when Arctic opened his eyes, his blade was clean enough to reflect the light, but still retained its fearsome design and everything that made it _it_. He picked it up and sighed. "It's not purified," he said to himself, "but damn if it's not disinfected."

He did the same process with Skye's armor, and he prepared to send the tactician a message to let her know her armor was purified, when a voice behind him said, "Thanks." He turned to see Skye. In a towel.

He quickly averted his eyes while blushing. "No problem," he managed to say through his embarrassment. He turned back around to face his friend once she put her armor back on. "G'night." He turned back to leave.

"Where are you going?" Skye asked him.

"Outside," he stated, turning to face her.

"Why? You have your room back, remember?"

"True. But I have days where I want to sleep on my tree."

"...Why?"

"It's better you don't ask."

"Okay, then."

When Arctic left the building, he looked around to find a good tree; he didn't feel like going all the way down to Floor 51, where his tree stood. His breath caught when he saw the tree. "No way…" he said under his breath. He walked over to a tree that was just within walking distance to the guild house, and yet was still far enough that nobody could bother him by shouting from the base. He ran his hand over the tree's trunk. After analyzing the pattern, he deduced: it was the exact same pattern as his tree.

 _Probably just a coincidence_. He thought otherwise when he saw a branch with a slight groove in it; a groove that could only be caused by a body lying down on it all the time. _Never mind._

To test his idea, he jumped up in the branch. Not only did the groove perfectly fit his body, the branch was also shaded from the setting afternoon sun. "Oh, yeah," he sighed in pleasure. He closed his eyes and began to sleep. The last thought that ran through his head before he let sleep overtake him was, _Thank you, Kayaba._

 **(x)**

 **A/N: This chapter was more humorous than most, I noticed while writing it out. Still, hope you enjoyed it!**

 **S/N: Till next time!**

 **A/N: And as always, Read and Review!**


	24. Chapter 24: A Much Needed Vacation

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 24: A Much Needed Break**

 **A/N: This chapter―and the next one―are both two-parters. Yay.**

 **S/N: You know the disclaimer already.**

 **(x)**

 **May 21, 2024**

"You alright, man?" Solar's best friend asked in concern when he gave a yawn, one that lasted longer than usual for him.

"Yeah," the leader replied. "Just tired."

"All the stress getting to you?" Skye asked from his right.

"Wh-what?"

"Is all the stress of being the leader catching up with you?"

"..."

"Answer the question, Solar," Arctic and Skye stated.

"Yes."

The leader's two friends looked towards each other, then back to Solar. "Vacation," they both said with a snap of their fingers.

 **(x)**

"So you're...taking a vacation?" the elite Tri-Bladers simultaneously asked their leader.

"Yep. All the stress finally caught up to me."

"But what about the floor boss?"

"You'll have to do that without me."

"Like how we did everything else without Arctic?"

"Being Solar's favorite will not save you from fighting me."

"That a challenge?"

"Guys!" Solar put his hands up to stop Pearce and Arctic from getting any closer to each other. "Calm down," he told Arctic. "And that was uncalled for," he scolded Pearce.

"Sorry, boss."

"Now, I'm going on a vacation with Akira, and you can tell everyone else."

"Good call," Cupid said. "Too much stress will hinder you, and in this game, any hindrance will result in your death."

"Thanks for putting that image in our heads, Cupid," Skye grumbled. Cupid smiled and gave a thumbs up.

 **(x)**

 **Later...**

"Solar went on a vacation?" Asuna asked the Tri-Bladers. When they nodded, she said, "Finally!" while throwing her hands up in the air. "He _really_ needed a break."

"We can all agree on that. Is the meeting being held here?" Arctic asked the K.O.B.''s vice commander.

"Yeah," she affirmed. "And Heathcliff's gonna be here this time."

"May I ask why?"

Asuna pulled the original leader aside and whispered, "Our guys don't trust you."

"As expected. Shall we start the meeting, then?"

"Yes." She pulled away from Arctic and stood up straight as she walked to the round table. "Let's start. What do we know?"

 **(x)**

"Where are we going?" Akira asked her boyfriend once the Tri-Blade Alliance's base disappeared from their view.

"We," Solar stated as he put an arm around Akira, who leaned into the hold, "are going to a beach house on Floor 35 that I rented out for a month."

"Sounds cozy," Akira said, smiling at her boyfriend.

"It is, believe me."

"What'll we do there?"

"Whatever we want," he said, looking down to his beaming girlfriend.

 **(x)**

"Everyone, please pay attention," Skye pleaded, her words falling on deaf ears as nobody paid attention.

Kirito sighed in exasperation. "What now, O fearless leader?" he asked Asuna.

"Thinking," she replied through gritted teeth. Even Heathcliff was getting annoyed at the lack of attention his men showed.

Everyone didn't pay attention or even look at Arctic as he stepped. Taking the opportunity, the former mercenary's eyes blackened as he snapped his fingers. This action caused all of the lights in the room to be blown out.

"I have your attention now?" he asked darkly.

"Y-yes, sir!" all of the soldiers said in terror.

"Good. And for the record, don't ever call me sir; it makes me feel like I'm better than you. We're all equals here." After saying this, Arctic's eyes returned to their normal vibrant blue shade.

"Interesting," Heathcliff said with a smile.

"What is?" Asuna asked her commander in confusion.

"How easily a mercenary can get the attention of an army."

"To be fair, sir, he's done that since day one."

"Now," Arctic stated, leaning over slightly to look at the map. "Based on the info that was so kindly given to us by Argo…"

"Yo!" Argo's voice rang out from somewhere in the dark room.

"I'm confident that I've heard of this boss before. And I know a lot about him. If any of you watched _Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works_ or _Fate/Zero_ , kudos to you.

"His name is The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Like in the anime, he'll have a unique sword skill that'll allow him to launch a whole lotta blades at us. Normally, your shields will be destroyed by the sheer number of blades he'll launch in one minute. But luckily for you all, I have the four sets of armor recommended to fight him with."

"And they are?" Kirito asked his friend.

"The Mistral Set, the Queen Knight's Armor, the Holy Armor, and the Dragonhide Set. Normally, those sets are total shit, but their shields have an extremely high durability. I managed to get 3 of each set. Now, I propose this: we get twelve of the best tanks on the front lines, and give them the set they want, as long as they wear it."

"If that's the case," Heathcliff stated, walking up to Arctic, "couldn't we just equip the shields?"

Arctic shook his head. "That won't work. The defense boost will only work if the entire set is equipped. And if we're going to practice any strategy proposed, we can't use the armor. We'll have to use our current shields to practice our strategies."

"How do you know this?" Asuna asked the hero. "The beta testers didn't know this. So how do _you_ know?"

Arctic merely smiled and tapped his temple with his finger. "I'm a beta tester, remember? _And_ I did my homework."

"Impressive," Heathcliff said while smiling. "Arctic, while you provide the necessary items, leave the making of this strategy to the Blood Oath."

"Got it," Arctic nodded. "Now, can those tanks please walk up here?"

From the darkness of the room, six Blood Oath tanks and six Tri-Blade tanks walked up to Arctic. He promptly transferred the armor sets they asked for. "Don't wear those just yet," he instructed. "Like I said, they have shit durability."

"Wait, then how can we do this without anyone dying?" Eros asked in concern.

"We'll find a way. We'll attack the boss in a month."

"We don't have Solar with us," Pearce pointed out, causing everyone to murmur in agreement.

"No, you don't," Arctic agreed. He smiled. "You have _me_ instead."

 **(x)**

"Agh!" Solar held his chest in pain as he and Akira walked through the woods of Floor 35, drawing concern from his girlfriend as he stumbled a bit.

"Something wrong?" Akira asked, scared for her boyfriend, as she steadied him.

"Nothing. Just felt my pride take a heavy hit."

Akira glared at Solar, then smacked him on the arm. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry. Here we are!" Solar gestured to the house in front of them. The sight of it made Akira lose her breath because of the beauty.

It was a simple wooden house, but it was the way the lake behind it shimmered as the rays of Aincrad's sun bounced off the virtual lake. You couldn't even tell that it was made of ones and zeroes. "Wow," Akira breathlessly said.

"I know. And we got this at a good price, too. Only a million Col," Solar informed as he draped his arm over her shoulder.

"Even more wow. Let's go inside. I wanna see what they have in there."

"Why not?" The couple walked over to the house, and Solar held the door open for his lady. The inside was way roomier than the house's outside appearance would have you think. "Damn. I made a good investment." Solar chuckled.

"Yes, you did, sweetie. Now let's go check out the bedroom."

 **(x)**

 **After the meeting...**

"What color were you?"

"Blue. Then black. And blue again."

"You know that's not what I meant." This little conversation was being carried out by the Advent Archer and the Silent Savior.

"I know. Just wanted to screw with you."

"So, what color was your icon?"

"Let me explain something first." Arctic sat down on a nearby chair, with Pearce following his example. "You know the way icon colors work, right?"

Pearce scoffed. "Who doesn't? If you don't kill anybody, and fight for good, you're green; if you kill someone, _anyone_ , you're orange for a certain amount of time; if you kill people over and over and enjoy it, you're a red player, or a PKer.

"And since you, as Shadow, killed a lot of people, yet you fought for good, what color were you?"

"...Like you said, as Shadow, I killed. A lot. So I should've been red. But I never killed often, making me orange. And I only killed PKers or orange players." The storyteller chuckled. "I was the only yellow player in SAO."

"What color are you now?"

"You can't tell?"

"I know you're green, now. I just wanted to see if you know."

"Yeah, I know." The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, trying to find something else to talk about. Finally, Arctic spoke up. "What was that? Back at the base?"

"I don't follow."

"When Solar said that you guys had to do the boss without him, you attacked me verbally. Remember now?"

"Oh. That. Sorry, by the way."

"I've already forgiven you, Pearce. But I need to know: why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? Like, why did I attack you?" Arctic nodded. "It's because I was so angry at you. Granted, I never knew you till now, and all I had to go on was all the praise and tales of heroics the other elites told me about you. And I learned that you were the former leader, and when you revealed yourself as Shadow, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't shed tears for you, because I never knew you. Solar brought me in after you left."

"Is that why you listen to him above all?"

"Yeah. He gave me a chance to prove myself. We're getting off-topic. I was just so mad that, in all your glory, you found it so easy to lie to the ones you knew, the people who loved you."

"It wasn't easy, Pearce. Believe me, it wasn't."

"If you say so. You understand now, right?"

"Yeah. I do. Now let me ask you something, and I want you to think long and hard about your response before you tell me."

"I'm listening."

"Good. Now, when we clear this game, and trust me, we _will_ clear it, the majority of the guild will stop playing VRMMOs. There are some people that won't, like me, Solar, Skye, Kirito, and everyone else we know. But I'm not sure about you. So I ask you: are your loyalties to the guild, and will you stop playing VRMMOs? Or are your loyalties to Solar, and will he see you in the next game we all play after SAO? Like I said, think about your answer. Get back to me soon." The mercenary turned and left, leaving the archer stunned, and trying to formulate a response.

 **(x)**

"YOU!" Arctic looked down from his tree in annoyance to see a _very_ familiar face.

"What, Kibaou?" he demanded, jumping down to fully face the player.

"People've been sayin' you're back on the front lines! Am I wrong?"

"Nope. Got a problem?"

"Why, yes, I do, actually!"

"Why?"

"I never trusted you, as Arctic _or_ as Shadow; you being a murderous mercenary just cinches it."

"And pray tell, exactly _what_ will you do about it? Fight me? You remember what happened to the last guy who tried to fight me?"

"That's the reason why I'm here! He was one of the best!"

"He was orange!"

"So you say! _We_ didn't see that! All we saw was you killing a good guy!"

"Good by _your_ piece of shit standards!"

"Oh, that's it!" Kibaou was about to draw his blade, until he felt a sudden drop of temperature in the air behind him.

" _ **Now, now,**_ " Arctic's voice sang behind him in the same malicious tone he adopted when he killed the lancer-in-question. " _ **Aren't we all friends here?**_ "

"Wh-what are you?!" Kibaou demanded through his fear.

" _ **Just a Shadow. A murderous mercenary. And if you ever want to talk, just remember…**_ "

Kibaou shivered as he felt a sharp and cold object trail its way up his neck.

" _ **There's never a body in SAO,**_ " Arctic said in a soft coo, directly into Kibaou's ear. " _ **So, watch what you say. And leave.**_ **Now.** "

Once Arctic left his side, Kibaou turned and ran the other way like a bat out of hell.

"Never liked that guy," Arctic said in his normal tone as he jumped back up to his tree.

 **(x)**

"Whatcha thinking about?" Akira asked her boyfriend as he leaned over the balcony, deep in thought.

"Just about what happened to Arctic, y'know," Solar replied. "And about how much of a spark he and Takano had before... _that_."

"Oh. If I were you, I'd try not to think about that _too_ much. It makes me worry." Akira rested her head on Solar's shoulder, who pulled her in closer in response.

"About what, Aki?"

"About everything. About Arctic. About the guild. About everyone still alive and trapped in this damn game. About us." That last part was whispered, yet Solar still managed to hear her.

"What do you mean, 'about us'?"

"I mean I'm worried that what happened to those two will happen to us. That one of us will die, and the other will be put through the same thing Arctic had to go through."

"Stop." Akira tried to talk again, but Solar turned to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Just stop. Don't say that. I won't let it happen." _Not again_ , the leader thought as he blinked back some tears.

"But what if we can't help it? Life has a way of working things out the way it has planned for us." Akira placed her hands on his chest as she looked up at him.

"Then life must've been smiling at me when we met." Akira stared into his blood-red eyes, a comforting sight for her. She was detecting any trace of a lie in his eyes, and was relieved when she found none. "Can we stop this talking now? I'm getting depressed as hell."

"Not until I hear you say it." Akira rested her head on Solar's chest, who tightened his embrace.

"Say what?"

"You know what, you big dummy."

"I know." Solar sighed in mock annoyance , then cleared his throat. "Akira, I love you. I love you with every bit of my soul, virtual and IRL. I promise that when we get out, you will be the first person I look for, because after spending so much time with you, I can't imagine a life without you. Your beauty, spirit, innocence, and overall optimism and love for life caused these feelings I have for you. You filled a void that I didn't even know existed, because I spent all my life with everything I ever needed." Solar stared into Akira's watery eyes as he finished, "I swear, on my life, that I will not let you die; that I will not let you go; that I will never leave you. You have my heart, soul, and my blade at your side. I love you, Akira. Now and forever."

"Solar…" Akira had begun crying silent tears, but maintained a genuine smile. She stood up straighter to kiss him, a kiss he returned.

When they pulled back, Solar smiled. "That just told me that you feel the same way."

"I thought it went without saying." The two remained in their hugging position for a couple more minutes. "Let's go back inside."

"Sure. Whatever you want, sweetie."

 **(x)**

"Arctic!" _Ah, Goddammit._

"What?" he asked, completely annoyed with the repeated intrusions of his privacy. He lost that, however, when he saw Asuna and the K.O.B. at the base of his tree. He jumped down and asked, "What, Asuna?" with more respect.

"We came up with a strategy," she told him with a smile.

"You couldn't tell any of the Tri-Bladers why, exactly?" He looked away from her and finally noticed all of the Blood Oath members with their weapons out, excluding Heathcliff. "Asuna?" he asked, his voice dropping to just above a whisper as he put a hand on his sword. "Are you ambushing me?" he continued in his dangerous tone.

"What? No, no!" She waved her hands at him to show she wasn't lying. "We came up with a strategy…"

"But?"

"But nobody trusts you. They want to see if you're ready first."

"...You're only alive because you don't annoy me. Now, please explain."

"I proposed to the commander that I'd duel you, and if you managed to block all my attacks in a way only _you_ can, then you're ready." She stepped back while speaking and drew her blade.

"Sure. And if I have to duel you with the Darkness Blade, the most I can do―"Asuna rushed him while he was talking and charged up a sword skill.

When she attacked, she was surprised―and impressed―to see Arctic block all of her strikes effortlessly, before ending the assault by thrusting his right hand down and grabbing the blade, stopping it mere inches from his leg.

"―is fight without charging a sword skill," he continued, looking into Asuna's aghast eyes as if nothing had happened. "That fair for you?"

"..." Asuna said nothing as she pulled her blade out of Arctic's now loose grip and sheathed it. She walked away, passing Heathcliff and the soldiers. "He's ready," she curtly stated while walking away, her pride slightly damaged by the "duel" that took place.

"Excellent," Heathcliff said while smiling. He walked towards Arctic, the latter having sheathed his sword. Motioning for everyone else to lower their weapons, which they did, he pulled out a Mirage Sphere and activated it. "Now, here's what we planned..." he stared.

 **(x)**

 **S/N: Till next time!**

 **A/N: Read and Review!**


	25. Chapter 25: Love Burns Brightest

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 25: Love Burns Brightest…**

 **A/N: Warning: a bit of a dark start.**

 **S/N: Dark indeed, like damn, man! What goes on in that fucked-up head of yours?**

 **A/N: You don't want to know.**

 **S/N: Yeah, I bet! (Sighs) Anyway, we don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

 _Arctic opened his eyes and looked around. Darkness everywhere. The only source of light was the torch that appeared in his hand, something he_ knew _wasn't there before. In his left hand was his Darkness Blade, but when he looked down at it, he felt nauseous. He dropped the sword and collapsed to his knees, feeling like throwing up. "What's going on here?" Arctic asked himself as the nausea passed over him._

 _"Look." A ghostly voiced whispered in the hero's ears, sending chills up and down his spine. "You have reaped what you have sown."_

 _"What the hell are you talking about?!" Arctic called as he jumped to his feet. Despite having fell to the ground, the torch's light never went out._

 _Arctic froze as a new voice whispered in his other ear. "All the blood on my hands is on yours now..._ mate _." His eyes widened as he turned to the direction of the voice, and he once again felt like throwing up when he saw what he saw._

 _Kutthroat was standing in front of Arctic, a sword stabbed through him and blood dripping down the blade. The evil smile never left the specter's face, making it all the more terrifying. "They're calling." That was all the ghost had to say before he disappeared into the darkness._

 _"Wait!" Arctic reached a hand out to where his predecessor to the Darkness Blade went, but he was too late. Soon after, he began clutching his head in pain as he heard the voices._

" _You killed us, Shadow."_

" _You have the weapon that killed me."_

" _Why? Why did I have to die?"_

 _"You're no hero."_

 _"A real hero would've looked for him; for the killer."_

 _"All you did was play mercenary."_

 _"How do you live with yourself?"_

 _"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Arctic screamed as the voices overwhelmed him. He felt a hand touch his head, and when he looked up, his eyes widened in shock._

 _Takano stood in front of him, bloodied with a gaping wound in her chest from where she was stabbed by the very person who was staring at her. "I never loved you," the ghost smiled evilly._

 _"T-Takano?" Arctic asked weakly._

 _"Goodbye, my 'love'." With that, Takano pushed Arctic back, and he found himself falling through an endless void, constantly tormented by the accusations and statements of the fallen, innocent and killer alike._

 **(x)**

Arctic woke up, screaming as he sat up. He stopped screaming as he looked around. He was back in his room in the Tri-Blade Alliance's guild house. He inhaled and exhaled shakily, trying and failing to calm his nerves.

" _All the blood on my hands is on yours now..._ mate _."_

" _I never loved you. Goodbye."_

" _You're no hero."_

The voices were still there; he still heard them, albeit faintly. Arctic buried his head in his hands as he quietly sobbed, repeatedly asking himself:

Will he _ever_ be free of this pain?

Unbeknownst to him, his screams woke up one other person, and that person was currently outside his door, listening to his cries. "Why?" Despite it being a whisper, Skye could hear Arctic clearly, and her heart broke at what she heard next. "Why can't I love? Why haven't I moved on? Why am I being tortured like this?"

Deciding that enough was enough, Skye knocked on Arctic's door lightly, and wasn't surprised to hear shuffling approaching the door. The door opened, and Skye saw Arctic standing in front of her, and he was wiping some tears away. "Are you okay?" Skye asked Arctic as she comfortingly placed a hand on his arm.

Arctic nodded. "It was just a nightmare."

"Must've been pretty bad. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Arctic gestured towards his room, and Skye walked in. "You wanna talk about something?"

"Yes, actually. Let's talk about _you_." Noticing Arctic's face, Skye quickly added, "About the nightmare you've been having. It'll do you some good to get it out."

"If you say so. Get ready; it's pretty vivid." Skye sat on Arctic's bed, listening intently. After taking a breath to calm himself, Arctic began explaining his nightmare in full detail. Throughout his tale, Skye's expression became that of horror and shock. Once Arctic finished, he looked towards Skye. "You can see why I've become a bit cynical, right?"

"Obviously. How do you live with that?!"

"I try to forget, but something won't let me."

"Do you have any idea what it is?" When Arctic shook his head, Skye sighed. "Figures." She got up from the bed and stretched. "Try to get some more sleep."

"Sure thing." Arctic got up and walked with Skye to the exit of the room. "I'll see you in the morning."

Skye was about to leave the room; she already had one foot out the door before she stopped. She turned around and quickly gave Arctic a kiss on his cheek, stunning the former mercenary. "Good night." Skye smiled before turning and leaving, closing the door behind her.

What bothered Arctic wasn't that she kissed him; what bothered him was that, during that brief exchange, the lapis lazuli teardrop on Arctic's necklace glowed the brightest it ever had, and the light extinguished when Skye left.

 **(x)**

"What should we do today?" Akira asked as she and Solar ate.

Solar chewed on his sandwich for a bit before swallowing it. He snapped his fingers as a thought came to his mind. "We could go spend today at the Town of Beginnings. Or at another town. Y'know, go around town, maybe buy some new things. Of course, I wouldn't say no to some hunting or training."

"...How about Lindas? We could visit Liz while we're there," Akira suggested.

"Sure. Let's get changed into our civilian clothes, put our weapons in our inventories, then head out. I'll change out here; you go to the room." Akira nodded after she ate the last of her sandwich. She got up and walked towards the room, but not before kissing Solar on the cheek, leaving the leader smiling. He stood up and stretched. He then opened his menu and changed into a red long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and red-and-black sneakers. He moved his weapon into his inventory. He heard the door to his and Akira's room open, and turned to face her. Akira was wearing a pink-and-white sweater with a collar so wide that it was going off her right shoulder, as well as a skirt and leggings, and high-heeled boots. "Ready?"

Akira nodded. "Let's go." With that, the couple left to start their day.

Once they were outside, they both raised teleport crystals, and simultaneously called, "Teleport: Lindas!" They disappeared in a flash of blue light.

 **(x)**

"What first?" Akira asked as she swung her arms back and forth.

"Hmm." Solar placed his hand under his chin in thought, then looked up as he said, "How about Liz's smithy? We'll go there as customers, okay?"

"Lead the way." Akira wrapped her arms around Solar's arm, and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked.

While they were walking, they picked up some snippets of conversation, starting from when two players walked past them, then did a double take. "Wait, is that really―?"

"I dunno. Go and see."

The next part of the conversation was easily heard, as it was behind them. "Excuse me? Are you Solar?"

Solar and Akira turned around. "Yeah. Why?" Solar questioned as Akira tightened her grip on his arm.

"Wait, for real?!" The player's friend joined him, and both men started jumping up and down in glee. "Oh my god, we're such huge fans!"

"Why? We haven't done anything much."

"Said no floor clearing badass ever!" The player's friend rolled his eyes while maintaining his smile.

"Okay, what is going on?" Akira asked.

Both players gasped when she spoke up. "It's really her!" By this point, everyone in the plaza had surrounded the four.

"Guys. Please. Explain." Solar was beginning to look annoyed.

"Okay, okay! Ever since you became the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance, you've been recognized as the face of the guild! From that point, every Tri-Blade accomplishment became recognized as your own."

"Are you serious?" The player nodded. "Great. Publicity. The _one_ thing I didn't want."

"What?! Are you kidding?! You _know_ how many players would literally kill for publicity like yours, right?"

"Last I checked, we took down the largest murder guild in SAO in what has been dubbed 'The Final Battle'."

"You did! And you also revealed your Quick Draw, which you _never_ showed before!"

"Drop it."

"But―"

"Drop. It."

"Yes sir."

" _Don't_ call me sir. Makes me feel like I'm better than you, which I'm not. Now can we wrap this up? I wanted to spend today with my girlfriend."

"Okay. Whatever you want, si―Solar," the player quickly corrected himself when he noticed Solar's glare.

"Good." Solar and Akira turned to leave, until Solar stopped. He looked over his shoulder at the players. "What're your thoughts on Arctic?"

"Him? Well, while he did leave you and the guild, he did help out a lot as Shadow. So, we're still not sure about how we feel about him."

"I hope the result is a positive one." On that note, Solar and Akira left.

 **(x)**

"Welcome to Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop! How can I help...you…?" Liz stared at her two newest customers. "I thought you two were on vacation!"

"We are," Akira said as she looked over the axe collection Liz had. "We're here as customers."

"Speaking of which," Solar said as he walked up to the counter, "can I ask for an upgrade to this new weapon I got?"

"Sure. Let me see it." Solar removed his weapon from his inventory and presented it to Liz, who took it and unsheathed it, looking it over. "What kind of weapon is this? I've never seen it before."

"That, my friend, is an O-Katana. It's one that was specifically made to be sheathed on the back, not on the side. As a result, it doesn't have a curve like all other katanas, but the drawing speed with this surpasses all."

"Black handle and crossguard, and a red blade, huh? Somehow fitting. Does it have a name?"

"I call it 'Infinity Blazer'."

"That's a really cool name."

"Thanks. Can you upgrade it for me?"

"What do you want? Faster drawing speed? More sharpness? More lightness?"

"The last two, if you can."

"Give me a minute." Solar patiently waited as Liz walked into the back room.

He turned to see Akira lift up an axe. "Found one you like, sweetie?"

Akira looked towards Solar. "Possibly. Still looking, though."

"Don't take too long, if you can help it." Akira nodded as she put the axe back and kept looking.

"All done!" Solar turned back around to see Liz with his sword in her arms. "All the upgrades you asked for!"

"Thanks, Liz. You really are the best."

"In the…" Liz smiled as she waited for Solar to finish the joke.

"Sorry, only Arctic can make that joke."

"That's fair. That'll be 5,000 Col."

"Done." Solar paid Liz in full as he took his weapon back.

"I've found one!" Liz and Solar looked at Akira as she walked up to the front. She had an axe that had a very unique color scheme. It had a stark white blade, and a hot pink handle. "I get the feeling you were thinking of me when you made this, Liz."

"Funny enough, I actually was. It suits you. You want it?" Akira nodded. "2,500 Col." Akira paid Liz as she transferred the weapon to her inventory. "You wanna name it?"

"I'll come up with something later. Right now," Akira pulled Solar close to her, "I've got to spend some time with my man."

"Have fun, you two!" The couple waved at Liz, who was waving at the two while they left.

 **(x)**

 **June 4, 2024**

"Arctic…" a voice faintly called. The player being called out to snapped out of his stupor when the person said, "HEY!"

"What?" he asked, looking at Eros in slight annoyance.

"Are you alright? We had to call you like, five times. Did you get _any_ form of sleep?"

"Yeah," Arctic lied through his teeth. This prompted a raised eyebrow from Skye, who knew otherwise.

"Doesn't look like it," Cupid remarked.

"Sorry. I'm just used to sleeping outdoors. The cool air helps me sleep easier."

"Right. Well, d'you know the strategy we're doing?"

"Of course. Heathcliff told me. But, um, exactly _how_ long has it been without Solar and Akira?"

"I'd say, a couple weeks now." Cupid looked towards the silent Skye. "Hey, Skye, you doing okay? You're abnormally quiet over there."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Skye waved off Cupid's concerns and smiled to reassure her friend.

"Anyways," Pearce drew the attention back to the papers on the table. "How powerful _is_ Gilgamesh, exactly?"

"Like I said, you'll need four armor sets, which I gave out, and we'll need to hone our AGI to avoid the swords he'll launch at us."

"Just swords?"

"Yep. And I gotta say, I respect Kayaba; never took _him_ as the kinda guy to watch anime, let alone any of the _Fate_ ones."

"Mm-hmm. Really puts into perspective how much effort he put into this game. But I digress. Anything else we need to know?"

"If your shields don't work, then you should probably fall back with the archers and blast away his swords. And once again, sharpen your reflexes."

"Easy for _you_ to say," Eros scoffed.

"Hey, if I can dodge, anyone can." Arctic stood up. "I'mma head out now. You know where to find me."

 **(x)**

Outside, Arctic leaned on the base of his tree with his arms crossed while all the members of the Tri-Blade Alliance and the Knights of the Blood Oath were training. He was dozing off, nodding in and out of sleep. Finally, when it looked like he was about to get some actual rest, he said, "Get off my tree, Bella."

"One of these days, I _will_ get you," the Silver Shadow stated while she jumped down next to him.

"Good luck with that; in case you forgot, I'm not Kirito. And should the day come where you manage to catch me off guard, then I'll gladly eat a Taijitu Snake raw."

"I will hold you to that," Bella said with an evil smirk.

"May I ask why you're bothering me?"

"No, but may I ask how you're feeling?"

"Getting better. Slow and steady, y'know?"

"As long as you're getting better. And did Kirito tell you?"

"That you're participating in the boss raid? Yeah. Honestly, this will go a whole lot easier with the Silver Shadow joining us."

"It wasn't easy enough with SAO's Shadow?"

"You can never have too much back-up. And nothing says 'back-up' like two shadows."

"I agree." She looked towards the morning sun, then back at the guild members who were training. "Did you find anyone special, yet?"

Before Arctic could respond, he picked his head up when he heard a pair of footprints. This prompted Bella to tense up, until Arctic reassured her, "Relax. It's just Kirito."

"No one else?" When Arctic nodded, the Silver Shadow smiled mischievously. "Wait here." She climbed up the tree, disappearing from sight once Kirito showed up. During this, Arctic resumed his leaning on the tree, his hood now up to block the sun's harsh rays.

"Hey," Kirito said once he spotted SAO's Shadow. "I thought you'd be up on the branch."

"Not today, my friend. Why are you here?"

"Asuna wanted me to tell you: Heathcliff moved the day of the raid to tomorrow."

"Son of a bitch! He did?!" Arctic uncrossed his arms and stood up straight as he gave his full attention to the Black Swordsman.

"I know. I was just as shocked as you are. But, he _is_ the commander of the K.O.B. If he thinks we're ready, then so be it." He looked around, suddenly on high alert. "Have you seen Bella anywhere?"

With his hood up, and leaning on the tree once more, Arctic sneaked a glance up to where Bella lay in hiding. The female player smiled and motioned for him to keep quiet. "Nope," he stated. "Haven't seen her."

"Really? Damn, she said she'd be here."

"And I am," Bella said behind her companion, who jumped five miles in the air.

"Every time!" Kirito said, putting a hand on his chest to calm his racing heartbeat.

"If this happens every time," Arctic remarked with a smile, evident even under his hood, as he continued leaning, "then you would've learned by now."

"Quiet, you," Kirito growled towards his friend, who merely held his hands up in surrender. "I take it you heard everything?" he asked, turning towards Bella once she stopped laughing her ass off.

"The raid's tomorrow? Any particular reason why Heathcliff made such a bold move?"

"I dunno. Maybe he feels that everyone's ready. I'll see you back home." Kirito turned to Arctic again once Bella disappeared back into the woods. "You all right? You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"I'm fine. And you shouldn't worry about me; leave that job to Asuna."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kirito asked, suddenly defensive once Arctic mentioned the vice commander's name.

"Whoa, why so defensive? You can have her, man." Kirito blushed and sputtered, trying to come up with an answer. "And besides, shouldn't you know the answer to that? I mean, you _have_ been spending a lot of time with her lately." Arctic chuckled and proceeded to jump onto his branch and take a nap while Kirito blushed even more furiously and stuttered some more, before sighing defeatedly.

 **(x)**

 **The next day…**

 **Floor 70: Boss Dungeon**

"Listen up!" All the chattering players stopped and focused their attention on the former mercenary. "I know the vast majority of you don't trust me! But I'm asking you, as your peer and as your friend, help us win! Help us get one step closer to clearing this goddamned game, once and for all!" As Arctic finished, he raised his fist in the air as a call to arms, one that everyone responded to with their own fist pumps and battle cries. "Now, as a brave warrior once said, 'Let's win!'" More cheering ensued as Arctic turned to open the door to the boss room. For reassurance, he looked over at his friends, all of whom nodded in determination. Nodding back, Arctic turned to face the door. He called, "To those I gave those special armor sets to, equip them. Now."

"Done!" Each of the tanks that were chosen called one by one.

"Good." Without another word, Arctic opened the door and walked in front of everyone, who followed closely behind.

The room was dimly lit, with candles being the only source of light. However, once the last person entered and the doors closed, an ominous wind blew out the candles. A second after, the room suddenly lit up, blinding everyone who looked up. Once their vision cleared, they looked at the throne that was all the way on the other side of the boss room. On it sat a humanoid figure, with golden hair and red eyes that pierced through anyone who looked at them. Unlike the other bosses, who each wore some form of armor, this boss was wearing casual clothing, no trace of armor on him. The expression on the boss' face was that of an arrogant person, most likely because he had the skill to justify his attitude. He stood up and walked down the steps to his throne, and walked towards the players. Once he stopped in front of Arctic, they saw that the boss was only a couple inches taller than Arctic, making this boss the most human. The boss smirked as he looked at Arctic, and as several portals appeared behind him. From those portals, various swords came out slowly, and the boss' health bars appeared. The name above those bars read, _'The King of Heroes: Gilgamesh'_ , and the boss kept one hand in his pocket. Gilgamesh used the other to taunt the players by motioning for them to attack him.

"Wait," Arctic called, putting his hand out to stop the advancing forces. "You don't know what he'll do," he said turning to face the soldiers. "I'll test his skills." Immediately after he turned, Gilgamesh launched a sword at him. Everyone cried out in alarm, before the boss's intended target caught the blade in his hand, breaking it afterwards.

"I wasn't finished," Arctic growled.

Gilgamesh retained his smirk, and spoke, which surprised everyone. "Interesting. But your reflexes won't be enough, maggot."

The former mercenary smirked as his nightmarish red eyes met the boss's. "That's not all I have," he replied, drawing the Darkness Blade. Gilgamesh's lip curled upwards in disgust.

"A faker. How nice." Gilgamesh smirked once again as more swords appeared behind all around them. "Arctic", and everyone else, got ready to fight. "This will be more fun than I thought."

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile...**

"So what should we do today, Aki?" Solar asked Akira as he stretched on the balcony.

"Well," Akira mused, "it _is_ one of the best days in this season. And we _do_ have a lake for now."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Let's go swimming today!"

"All right! I'll go get our things ready."

"I'll go prepare the lunch!"

After half an hour (Akira was really picky about what swimsuits they were going to wear), the couple walked out and along the shoreline. "Don't worry about anyone seeing us, sweetie. I picked this place for our vacation because it's secluded."

"Once again, smart choice. Let's set down here!" Solar nodded, then placed a blanket on the spot Akira recommended. Akira placed the picnic basket on the blanket. "C'mon!" Ignoring Solar's cry of protest, the Slasher Chick grabbed her boyfriend's hand and ran into the water, dragging him with her.

They spent the next few hours playing around in the water. They decided to take a lunch break, and were currently eating some sandwiches that Akira made. Solar finished his sandwich, then peeked over at his love. While Solar himself was wearing red swim trunks, Akira was wearing a pink and white two piece bathing suit. Solar found himself entranced by her beauty. _How did I get so lucky?_ Once Akira finished, she glanced over at Solar, who blushed and looked away when he learned that he'd been caught staring. "So we should probably wait an hour or so before going back in," Solar suggested, the blush still evident on his face.

Akira nodded in agreement, and leaned on Solar as the two watched the lake. "So how long do we have left? In the vacation, I meant."

"You made a good choice in being specific. If you didn't, I would've made a smartass remark. To answer your question, we've got a couple weeks left in the vacation."

"And last I checked, the floor boss fight is happening in two weeks. Around the same time our vacation ends."

"That's what I heard, too. You don't think…?"

"That maybe they planned this so we wouldn't have to take part in this boss raid, and we could enjoy time to ourselves? Maybe."

"I love those guys."

"Me too." The two sat in silence for a bit longer, before Akira looked up at Solar. "How _did_ you meet Pearce, anyway? And why is he so loyal to you?"

"Why the sudden curiosity?" Akira shrugged. "Okay, then. A couple weeks after Arctic left―before I met Shadow―I was walking around one of the floors. People were running past me, and I had no choice but to follow when one of them told me that someone was going to jump off of Aincrad. I saw a player, who I later learned had lost his friends to a field boss he cleared, about to jump off. I ran forward, and grabbed him before he could jump. He was struggling like crazy. Eventually, he calmed down and started crying, most likely for his friends. I talked to him, and I scolded him for giving up so easily. I told them that there was a way for his friends to be avenged; by clearing this game. Apparently, he took my words to heart, because I saw him a few weeks later, and he wanted to join our guild."

"I think I know the answer to this already, but who was the player?"

"It was Pearce. For those solid few weeks, he trained himself to fight with a bow. Now, he can match me with my sword." Akira's eyes widened. "I personally checked. Ever since, he listened to me above all else. He told me it's because I gave him a chance."

"Damn. I had no idea."

"You see why I treat him with respect, right? He could've easily just committed suicide during that one week, but he had the strength to keep going, unlike most people would've." On that note, the two kept staring at the sea and admiring it, before Solar had an idea. He stood up and offered a hand to Akira, who took it and used it to get up. "I did a little scouting around this place earlier, and I found a good spot. Wanna see?" Akira nodded, and they walked into the forest surrounding the house. The forest had been cleared of most mobs, but any they would encounter would be easy.

 **Later...**

"Here it is!" Solar stepped through a bunch of trees that were blocking something. He gestured out to the area. "What do you think?"

"I think," Akira started, "it's beautiful!" The two were standing in a hidden field, and they were currently overlooking the sea at a higher elevation. From this area, the sun, which had begun setting, was in clear view, with just enough shade in the area to avoid the sun getting in the eyes of those who watched it. The orange glow of the setting sun was bouncing off the water, and somehow made the water sparkle. "We should come here for the rest of the vacation!"

"I wholeheartedly agree. Now let's go. It's getting late." Akira nodded, and, after her arms around Solar's arm, began walking back to their temporary home with him. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Not today. I love you, too, sweetie."

 **(x)**

 **Back at Floor 70…**

"55 swords." This statement was spoken by the Silent Savior as he jumped down. "That's how much you can launch in a minute. Afterwards, you're vulnerable for about 15 seconds." "Arctic" smirked as he charged the Darkness Blade. "That's more than enough time we need to kill you."

"Damn you…!" Gilgamesh growled, one hand and knee on the floor to prevent himself from falling due to exhaustion.

"Attack now!" Heathcliff shouted as everyone rushed the downed Gilgamesh. While he dodged most of their attacks, he was forced to tank some of the stronger strikes, bringing him down to half of the first of his four HP bars. Once 15 seconds passed, the King of Heroes threw his arms out to his sides and let a barrier loose, knocking back his assailants. He arrogantly smiled as he stood up straight. This time, multiple swords jetted out of the Gates of Babylon.

"Tanks, now!" Asuna shouted before she dodged all of the blades heading her way.

"On it!" the 12 soldiers shouted, forming a circle around the others and raising their shields. The blades launched at the soldiers were caught by the shields, the tanks using this to their advantage by rushing and bashing Gilgamesh with their new pincushions. Gilgamesh screamed in pain as his HP dropped into the second bar.

"You mongrels!" he growled out. "How are you doing this? How dare you attack your king?!"

"You're no king," Asuna stated. "And you can thank Arctic for exploiting your weakness."

"Arctic?" Gilgamesh asked in confusion. It wasn't long before he started laughing cruelly. "The warrior you call Arctic―he isn't here."

"What?" everyone asked in shock.

"Are you all deaf? He's not here. All that remains is his Shadow. But if you truly wish to know…" Gilgamesh smiled cruelly as a Gate opened up behind one of the tanks.

"One key feature about a man is his loyalty. _Arctic_ would never let someone die while he's around; I wonder if _Shadow_ would do the same." Upon saying this, a sword was launched at the tank. He turned to block it, but it came at him too fast, so he had no choice but to try to take it head on.

 _Ting!_

Upon hearing the impact of steel on steel, the tank opened his eyes to see "Arctic" stand in front of him, the sword he blocked laying on the floor in pieces.

"You okay?" the hero asked, not bothering to look at the tank.

"Y-yeah. Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." He helped the tank to his feet. "I'll aggro him; once he's vulnerable, then everyone has to attack."

"But that's not the strategy Commander Heathcliff gave us!"

"Sometimes, a well-made plan doesn't work; it's often best to think on your feet." Without waiting for a reply, "Arctic" rushed the boss.

"Are you that eager to be squashed, maggot?" Gilgamesh rhetorically asked as he opened more Gates. "If so, I'll be more than happy to kill you!"

"Arctic" said nothing, opting to dodge the blades alongside Bella, breaking those that came too close to him.

"How much longer?" Bella asked herself as she twisted and dodged about, infuriating the King of Heroes.

"Stay still, you brats!" he growled as the frequency of the blades increased. Gilgamesh suddenly thought of something, and it would _surely_ test the mercenary's loyalties. He opened a portal behind Bella, and watched with sadistic glee as a sword jetted out to attack the Silver Shadow.

All Bella could do was watch in horror as "Arctic" shoved her out of the way, all because, and this was rare for her, she was too damn slow. "Arctic" got pierced in the shoulder by a sword, then in the leg by another. Finally, he stopped in shock after he felt a third sword lodge itself in his back. He fell to his knees, strangely clutching his head like it was about to split open. "NO!" Bella shouted as she rushed to her friend's side.

"DIE!" Gilgamesh smiled evilly as he launched another wave of swords at the struggling "hero", and at the girl dumb enough to go to his side.

 **(x)**

" _What the hell were you thinking?!" Shadow crossed his arms as he stared at his other half, who was kneeling and holding his chest in pain._

" _What does it look like? I'm saving our friend!" Arctic glared at Shadow as he got back to his feet._

"I _don't have friends. All they are to me are meat shields for your body, so we can_ both _live!" Shadow uncrossed his arms as he walked towards Arctic._

" _How can you say that?! Bella was one of the few people who knew your identity!"_

" _All the more reason to use her as a meat shield! She'd understand."_

" _I'm not dealing with this right now." Arctic turned his back on Shadow to resume control of the body. That was, until he was turned around by Shadow and received a punch to the cheek._

 _As Arctic got back up, Shadow spoke. "Not so fast, buddy!_ I'm _in control, remember?"_

 _Arctic grabbed Shadow's shoulder and drove his fist into the red-eyed being's gut, feeling silent glee when he saw saliva come out of Shadow's mouth as he grunted in pain. "And don't forget who_ let you _take control!" In response, Shadow punched Arctic again, who retaliated with a punch of his own, this time aimed at the mercenary's face. Once he recovered, Shadow grabbed Arctic and headbutted him twice, bringing the former leader down to his knees. As Shadow was going for a third headbutt, Arctic suddenly reached up, grabbed the collar of Shadow's coat, and headbutted the mercenary with twice as much force as Shadow had used on him. "I won't let you haunt me again!"_

" _Sorry to say," Shadow seethed as he and Arctic got up, "but as long as I'm stuck in here, neither of us will be free from the other!" Arctic growled, then gasped when he saw something in the "real" world. "What now?!"_

" _Look!" Arctic pointed to his left, and Shadow turned in the direction indicated. His eyes widened when he saw the current boss fight in his field of vision. He and Arctic looked to the right and saw Skye at the body's side. At the left was Asuna. In front of them was Gilgamesh, who was opening two portals, aimed directly at the females. Already, two swords were coming out; the portal in front of Asuna held the Sword of Shadows, while the one in front of Skye held Arctic's original sword. Shadow looked to Arctic, who swiftly responded with, "I know for a fact that you won't help Asuna, so save Skye! Please!" Shadow nodded, and ran to the right, while Arctic ran to the left._

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile…**

"DIE!" Gilgamesh smiled evilly as he launched another wave of swords at the struggling "hero", and at the girl dumb enough to go to his side.

"NO!" Skye, Asuna, and Bella shouted as they ran to his side.

"Get back!" "Arctic" somehow got out, his voice sounding like two different people speaking at the same time. Bella, trusting her friend, stopped, looked towards the two females that ignored his command, and ran back into the crowd. "Arctic" kept holding his head in pain as he faced the boss, who had not lost his evil smile. That smile faltered, however, when 6 of the specially-armored tanks jumped in front of Arctic and raised their shields to block the oncoming swords. "Arctic" looked up to see the tanks, who were defending him while he was down. His red/blue eyes widened when he saw that they were all K.O.B tanks. "Why?" "Arctic" choked out as he continued holding his head.

"Because," the very same tank that Arctic had saved earlier spoke as he looked over his shoulder to smile at the ailing mercenary/Tri-Blader, "you helped us. More than we can comprehend. It's only fair we return the favor."

"The jury's still out on whether or not the guild trusts you as a whole," another tank said as he blocked the swords, which were lessening in frequency, "but if Asuna and Heathcliff trust you, then so do we!"

"..." "Arctic" didn't know what to say. "Thank you," he finally said.

"He stopped!" One of the tanks pointed out.

"Get back!" Asuna ordered the tanks, all of whom jumped back without a moment's hesitation. "Are you okay?" Asuna asked "Arctic" as she and Skye knelt by him.

"Perfect!" The two females snapped their heads up when they heard Gilgamesh call, that damned evil smile once again on his face. He raised his arms to his sides as he formed two portals, shocking the entirety of the room. They thought for sure that he had exhausted his sword supply for that time! "Pick one, hero! The commander?! Or the tactician?!" Gilgamesh laughed evilly as he launched the forming weapons at the females, who weren't fast enough to block it.

 _Clang! Clang!_

Asuna and Skye looked up in shock to see "Arctic" raising his hands at his sides, blocking the swords with his gauntlets. "Why save one," "Arctic" started with his two voices, his eyes flashing from red to blue, "when you can save both?" Arctic finished in _his_ voice.

"Nice save," Skye and Asuna stated, smiling widely. Arctic turned back and smiled as he broke the blades.

"Buy me some time," he stated, a serious expression adorning his features as he faced Gilgamesh once again. "I need to switch my weapons."

"On it!" Gilgamesh's targets both charged the boss, slashing and dancing around him as everyone aggroed him.

"I always wanted to say this: Trace...On!" Arctic said to himself as his selected weapon formed in his hands. "NOW! SWITCH!" Arctic shouted as he dashed forward. Asuna and Skye dodged out of the way as Arctic rocketed past, wielding his dual knives.

He screamed as he jumped up and dove towards Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes turned and blocked his opponent's onslaught with a sword he pulled from a Gate near him. Having stunned the King of Heroes with his attack, Arctic immediately launched into a combo, stabbing and slicing Gilgamesh with all the power and speed he had in hand. He broke any and all weapons the boss tried to pull out, and didn't give him a chance to recover as he continued.

Everyone cheered upon seeing the hero's ferocity and will to fight, and more so at the rapid decline of Gilgamesh's HP. Eventually, when his health dropped to a mere sliver, the combo was stopped. Arctic tried to finish the combo by slashing Gilgamesh across the chest―and was shocked to feel his blades bounce off like they were nothing.

Gilgamesh laughed, a triumphant and cruel sound as he opened a seemingly endless number of gates. "What now, maggots? I am invincible!"

Arctic jumped back to the soldiers. "He has a weakness," he whispered to himself. "Just gotta find it."

"Arctic!" Kirito, Asuna, and the others called, drawing the hero's attention as they reached him.

"That was awesome!" Kirito smiled.

"Indeed," Asuna seconded. "But what now? He's invincible."

"What do we do now?" Eros asked.

"Now?" Arctic asked. When everyone nodded, he said, "Now, it'd be best to GET DOWN!" As he shouted the last two words, everyone fell to the floor, holding themselves down for cover as an endless storm of swords rained over them. "Skye! Asuna! With me!" Arctic shouted as he dashed forward.

"What d'you got?" the two women asked once they reached his side and ran alongside him.

"Attack from the sides. Hit-and-run tactics."

"I'll help too," Bella stated, running so she was at the same distance as her friend.

"The more, the merrier," Arctic said, inwardly screaming like a bitch at Bella's sudden appearance. "And...Now!" Everyone dispersed to either side of Gilgamesh, rushing to attack him and draw back, while Skye and Asuna rallied the troops of their respective guilds. They each grit their teeth when they saw their weapons bounce off like Arctic's had. Eventually, when it was Arctic's turn, he attempted to cross his knives in an X-fashion across The King of Hero's chest, only to be blocked by Gilgamesh, who had taken two blades from his Gates. Both Arctic and Gilgamesh grit their teeth as they locked in a struggle.

Pearce was watching, infuriated that he couldn't do anything. Until he remembered: he saw the anime. He pulled out an arrow and aimed while charging it. He couldn't get a clear shot due to Arctic's head being in the way. "Arctic," Pearce whispered. "I know you can hear me. Move your head two centimeters to the right." Barely noticeably, Arctic moved his head precisely two centimeters to the right. Pearce smirked. "I am the bone of my sword, motherfucker," Pearce said aloud before he let the arrow fly.

Everyone watched in glee as the arrow pierced Gilgamesh (pun intended) between the eyes, and openly cheered as the King of Heroes went down, and shattered.

 _Congratulations!_

When Eros and Skye helped the hero up, everyone cheered when they saw Arctic was all right. "Exceptional work," Heathcliff said as he walked up to the mercenary. He smiled. "I would expect nothing less from the Shadow of Sword Art Online and his family."

"Family?" Arctic incredulously asked with a smile.

"SAO's Shadow said he didn't have friends," Bella said, walking up from behind Arctic and resting an elbow on his shoulder. "He never said anything about a family."

"True. Anyone wanna open the door?"

"Nah," Asuna said. " _You_ do it. You did the most out of all of us today."

"I always open the door, though."

"Stop complaining and do it."

"Yes, ma'am." Arctic walked up to the door and opened it.

 _Floor 71: Open!_

As everyone ran past, Arctic turned to face his "family". "This mean the Knights trust me?"

"We'll ask, but we're confident…" Asuna started.

"That the entire guild―myself and Asuna included―will follow you through Hell and back," Heathcliff finished, a smile gracing his and his vice commander's faces.

Arctic smiled back genuinely. "Great! That leaves one thing," he sighed. He turned to Bella, who was smiling rather unsettlingly. "Hand it over."

"But of course. You lost the bet," Bella laughed as she transferred the Taijitu Snake she caught earlier to her friend.

"Bet?" Kirito asked curiously.

"Bella and I made a bet where, if she caught me off guard in any way, I'd eat a Taijitu Snake raw," Arctic explained.

"And judging from Bella's smile, you lost the bet."

"Yep," Arctic replied. He looked at the dead reptile in his hands before biting into it. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and looked over to everyone watching. He smiled. "Is it wrong to find this thing better eaten raw than cooked?"

"Ugh," the girls looked away in disgust while the males and Bella laughed uproariously. Heathcliff merely smiled at this display.

"You are, indeed, a man of your word, Arctic. Come, Asuna, let us go to the next floor."

"Yes, sir!" Asuna walked with Heathcliff, reaching the door before she turned back. "Thanks," she whispered, knowing full well Arctic could hear her, as he simply smiled in return.

 **(x)**

 **June 19, 2024**

Liz hummed cheerfully as she sharpened Asuna's Lambent Light. "And...done!" she finally said, wiping the sweat from her V.R. brow as she stood up.

"You're the best, Liz," Asuna said, taking her weapon and sheathing it. "Thanks."

"Sure, any time," Liz said. "Aren't you supposed to be out hunting with the guild today?"

"Yeah, I had to take the day off 'cause I sort of have this little meeting with someone."

"Oh..." Liz took notice of Asuna's new earrings and smiled. "Hehehe, I BET you have a little meeting, eh?"

"It's not like that!" Asuna asked with a slight blush. "Uh, I have to get going!" Asuna said when she heard the clock tower chime.

"I bet. He must be pretty special, whoever he is," Liz said under her breath.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Nope. Get going! It's rude to keep your date waiting!"

"It's not like that, I...oh, whatever! See you!" Asuna smiled as she turned to leave. Before she could, however…

"I'M BORED!" Arctic shouted as he teleported into the back room. Liz and Asuna both jumped back, screaming as loud as they could. Arctic smiled in humor. "That was very entertaining. See you later," he said in a more calm tone as he prepared to leave.

"No, you don't!" Liz grabbed Arctic's arm, Asuna having already left. "Since you're here, I could use your help," Liz said with a smile.

 _(Groans) I shouldn't have come here._ "Might as well. I got nothing better to do right now."

"Great!" Her smile grew when she heard the sound of the bell ringing, signaling the entrance of a customer. "Starting with this customer."

"Yeah, yeah." Arctic walked outside to greet the customer. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop. I'm being forced to work without pay. God save the Queen. How may I―?"

"Excuse me?" Kirito asked incredulously when he spotted his friend. "Your name's Lisbeth now?"

"Quiet, you. And before you say anything, I came in here because I was bored, and I'm friends with the shopkeep. Speaking of, she's coming out now."

Arctic stepped aside as Liz walked out. Her smithing gloves were off, and she smiled at her customer. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop! How may I help you?"

"Oh, hi," Kirito said. "I was wondering if you do custom orders."

 _He doesn't look like he has that much money._ "I can. Thing is, metal prices are high these days."

"I can get some for you, if you want," Arctic suggested.

"No, I couldn't ask that of you."

"It's no trouble. Plus, if I'm lucky, I get to kill at least five mobs."

"Oh, well I'm not worried about the cost," the Black Swordsman stated. "I just want the best sword you can make as soon as possible. I'm looking for something either the same quality or better than this," he explained as he gave Liz his sword.

 _This thing weighs a ton!_ Liz thought as she nearly dropped the sword due to its weight.

"Hey, is that an Elucidator?" Arctic asked Kirito, who nodded. "That's the best magic sword anyone can get from a mob!"

"You're just jealous you didn't get it first," Kirito stated with a smug smile.

"Why would I be jealous? You've seen my stats and items."

"What do you think?" the beater asked Liz, who had been staring at Kirito's sword in awe. She snapped out of her stupor when Kirito turned his attention to her.

"How about this? It's the best sword I ever forged. I call it my masterpiece!"

"...I don't know. It's a little light," Kirito replied after Liz handed him the sword.

"It should be. I used a speed-type medal to forge it."

"I'd like to test it, if it's cool."

"Test it how?" Lisbeth asked, confused by Kirito's request.

"You know, it's durability." Kirito held the "masterpiece" over his Elucidator and prepared to swing it down.

"Wait!" Arctic shouted, putting his hand out to stop Kirito. He was too late, however, as Kirito slammed Liz's sword over his own, the "masterpiece" breaking at the tip.

"GAAAAAAHH!" Liz screamed in horror as her sword fell to the floor, before it shattered.

"You broke my...masterpiece…" She grabbed Kirito by the collar of his coat in rage. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't think yours was going to break, honest!" Kirito replied in defense.

"Dick move, man," Arctic shook his head in disappointment. "What made you think a speed-type sword could match a strength-type's durability?"

"She said it was her best sword," Kirito justified.

"Doesn't mean it's what you're looking for. No offense, Liz."

"None taken," Liz muttered. "And are you saying," she said aloud, turning to Kirito, "that my sword, my MASTERPIECE of a sword, was lamer than you thought?!"

"Yeah, something like that," Kirito said with a smile.

"For your information, if I had the right materials, I could make a buttload of swords that could shatter yours into a million tiny little pieces! You got that?!"

"Oh yeah? That sounds like the kind of sword I'm looking for, as long as it can shatter mine."

"Hey, asshole," Arctic said, drawing Kirito's attention. "I owe you a favor, so I'll go get the metal."

"From where?" Liz and Kirito asked in unison.

"Floor 55, in the mountains. There's a dragon there that eats crystals and the metal it drops is rare."

"You know its name?"

"X'rphan the White Wyrm. Thing is," Arctic looked at Liz, who felt suddenly nervous, "the metal itself won't spawn unless there's a master blacksmith in the party."

Kirito sighed. "Fine. But keep quiet and stay out of our way," he told Liz.

"Wha―keep quiet and―?!"

"Dude, I've seen her fight. She's stronger than she looks."

"Thank you!" Lisbeth beamed at Arctic.

"If you say so, man. My name's Kirito, by the way."

"Yeah, whatever, Kirito," Liz said.

Well, if you're going to be like that, I can roll with it, Lisssssbeth."

"Grrrrr!"

As they left, Arctic thought to himself, _Skye would've liked that sword._

 **(x)**

"Achoo!" Liz sneezed as she, Kirito, and Arctic trekked through the mountains of Floor 55. "Mrr, it's cold."

"Shoulda brought a coat, Liz," Arctic stated as he walked ahead of the other two.

"I didn't know Floor 55 was going to be _this_ freaking cold!"

Kirito sighed. "Here," he said while handing Liz a fur-lined coat.

"Huh?" Liz asked when she received the coat. "Don't you need this?"

"You don't feel cold if you're disciplined." This reply earned Kirito a high-five from Arctic.

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working. It _is_ warm, though," she remarked about the coat.

"What's wrong, Lisbeth?"

"Giving up, already?" Arctic asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Not on your lives! And Kirito, if you're going to be a jerk about it, just call me Liz." She walked on ahead.

Arctic smiled at his friend's tenacity. "So, how've you and Bella been?" he asked the Black Swordsman.

"We're doing fine. Why?"

"Just asking. And is Bella _still_ laughing about…?"

"Every time it comes to mind. Didn't think you'd do it, honestly."

"What can I say? I'm a man of my word."

 **(x)**

"It's so beautiful!" Liz exclaimed as she ran forward to observe the crystals.

"I know! I haven't been here before," Arctic remarked as he walked with Kirito.

"That's surprising. Hey!" Liz exclaimed as Kirito pulled on the hood of her fur-lined coat.

"You should get your teleport crystal ready," Kirito said sternly.

"Alright, alright, I'm doing it."

"Let me and Arctic handle this part by ourselves. We're the most-equipped to deal with this. Stay out of sight, and don't let the dragon see you."

"Come on! I'm not a noob! If I wanna help you guys, I'll darn well―"

"Do what I say!" Even Arctic was taken aback by the sudden harshness in Kirito's tone.

"F-Fine."

"Good. Let's go. When the dragon comes out, don't come out of hiding. Arctic, let's go." Arctic nodded and walked ahead with Kirito.

"GRAAAAWWWWR!" The trio turned their heads when they heard a monster roar.

"Get to cover! Don't come out!" Arctic ordered.

"On it!" Liz called as she ran behind some crystals.

The two fighters looked up when they heard wings flapping. The dragon they were seeking was descending upon them, landing directly in front of them. Once the dust settled, the dragon roared at the two as its four health bars formed, with its name above it. _X'rphan the White Wyrm._ The dragon reared its head back as it began charging an attack.

"Watch out! It's a breath attack!" Liz called.

"Wait, what?" Arctic got out before the dragon let loose its breath attack. Kirito stepped in front of Arctic and deflected it with ease.

"I had that," Arctic said as he jumped back to Kirito.

"You were distracted," Kirito replied, lowering his sword to his face.

"Well, sorry if I have friends," Arctic remarked, unsheathing his sword.

"Not cool, man."

"Sorry." The two charged the boss. Liz watched in awe at the way the two worked together; where one would hit the boss with an onslaught of attacks, the other parries and switches in after it attacks.

 _I can't believe he's fighting with that skinny sword_ , Liz thought, referring to the Black Swordsman. _Who_ is _he?_

Kirito slashed the boss across the face, causing it to roar in pain. "Switch!" he called.

"On it!" Arctic teleported in front of the boss and created a bright flash, stunning the boss and Kirito. "Sorry!" He said before he attacked the boss.

"Give a little warning next time!" Kirito shouted, blinking the spots from his eyes while Lisbeth sat in her hiding spot, dazed slightly.

She shook the dizziness away and stepped out. "Come on!" she shouted. "Stop playing with it and finish it off already!"

"Dammit!" Arctic said to himself when he heard Liz's voice. "Get down!" he shouted at the blacksmith.

"What's the big deal? You both got right where you―"

The White Wyrm roared after seeing Liz, and used a breath attack on her. The attack blew Liz away and into a hole. She screamed as she fell down.

"LIZ!" Arctic shouted before he blocked the boss's swipes. Kirito jumped after her and grabbed her.

"Hang on to me, Liz!" Kirito shouted as he and the blacksmith fell into the hole.

 **(x)**

Liz groaned and held her head in pain as she got up. Looking over at Kirito, she noticed that he was in a similar state. "Are we still alive?" the beater groggily asked. He immediately sat back up. "Here," he said, handing Liz a health potion.

"Thanks," she said, drinking the potion while Kirito did the same. When he finished, he realized something horrible: he left Arctic to fight X'rphan.

"Arctic!" he shouted, looking around for the player.

"He's still up there,"Liz stated, pointing to the hole.

"Dammit! We have to get out!"

"Arctic can take care of himself. And can't we teleport out?" Liz took out her teleport crystal. "Teleport: Lindas!" She gasped in shock when nothing happened. "It's not working."

"If we can't use crystals, then there's probably another way out."

"HEY, GUYS!"

"ARCTIC?!" Liz shouted back.

"IF YOU'RE NOT TOO BUSY, I NEED HELP!"

"SHAKE IT OFF!" Kirito shouted towards Arctic.

"Done," Arctic said after teleporting beside the hole. He looked down. "Should I come down?!" he called towards the two.

"Don't risk it! We shouldn't trap you either!"

"...You _do_ know I have a 'fuck the rules' crystal, right?"

"So? We'll get outta here on our own!"

"I'll humor you." Arctic leaned away and smiled while crossing his arms. "I wanna see where this goes."

Ignoring Arctic, Kirito stepped back, and ran up the wall. Just before he reached the halfway point, however, he slipped and fell straight down, creating a Kirito-sized hole in the snow. And the beater didn't need a high Straining skill to know Arctic was laughing his ass off above them.

"Well, guess we're stuck here."

 **Later that night…**

"This is kinda weird, isn't it?" Liz asked Kirito as the two lay in sleeping bags with a fire burning in front of them. "This wouldn't happen in real life." Upon noticing Kirito's look, Liz elaborated, "You know, going to strange places, meeting a total stranger, and then sleeping next to them...I mean, you actually tried running up that wall! You really are a weirdo, you know that?"

"Well, excuuuuse me," Kirito said as he rolled his eyes.

"Kirito, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away. I'm all ears."

"Why did you risk your life like that to save me?'

"I can't just sit back and watch someone die. I'd rather die alongside them than do nothing. Especially if that someone's a girl like you, Liz."

"Wow, you really are an idiot. The only people I know who think like that are you and Arctic." Worry etched Liz's face as she thought about her friend. "How do you think he's doing?"

Kirito pointed a finger to above the cave. "GOD...DAMN...ICE WOLVES!" The pair that was stuck in the hole heard the Tri-Blader yell before they heard whimpering and shattering. "FINALLY!"

"I think he's doing just fine."

Kirito and Liz remained in silence for a few minutes before Liz looked at Kirito. "Hey…" Kirito looked towards her. "Hold my hand?"

"...'Kay," Kirito said after a while.

Liz grabbed the hand that Kirito gave her. She smiled as she remarked, "It's so warm…Even though you and me are just ones and zeroes in a virtual world…"

"Liz…" With that last thought, Kirito and Liz fell asleep.

Arctic heard the whole thing and sighed as he jumped up into a tree. It was made of ice, sure, but it'd work. _The cold never bothered me anyway._

 **(x)**

 **(For this entire segment, play "Wings" by Jeff Williams, feat. Casey Lee Williams)**

 _When Arctic woke up, he was surprised to see a white space instead of a black void with nothing but darkness. The change in brightness made him groan quietly as he sat up. After hearing the sound of footsteps, he looked to the side, to see a pair of grey flats walking up to him. He didn't know why, but they looked familiar. He let his eyes wander upwards―and gasped in shock._

 _Takano bent down to meet his eyes, and smiled. "Hey," she said._

" _Takano?" Arctic said, tears welling in his eyes. "You-you're here," Arctic choked out, standing up fully to meet her gaze at an even level._

" _Eh, not completely. I'm still dead."_

" _Wait. If you're here, and_ I _'m here, then…?"_

" _No, you didn't die." Takano pulled Arctic into a tight embrace, one he wholeheartedly returned._

" _Then how is this happening?" the hero weakly asked, leaning into her shoulder._

" _I pulled a favor," she joked, pulling away to smile. "I wanted to talk to you, but something kept blocking me."_

" _That'd be Shadow, my other half."_

" _I thought_ I _was your other half!" Takano said, faking a heartbroken tone._

" _You're dead; you don't count."_

" _You're so mean!" Takano and Arctic both laughed and hugged once more. "Anyway, all jokes aside, I came here because I had something to tell you."_

" _Is it secret?"_

" _Maybe." She leaned into her husband's ear. "Forget about me," she whispered._

" _WHAT?!" Arctic shouted as he broke the hug. "I can't do that! You_ know _I can't do that!"_

" _Learn to. I. Saw. EVERYTHING that happened since my death. You becoming Shadow; the Tri-Blade Alliance prospering under Solar's rule; The Olympians; all of it."_

 _Arctic drew a shaky breath as he fell to his knees, Takano joining him a couple seconds later. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking away in shame. "I'm sorry. I was so weak. I gave into_ him _because I was too weak."_

" _Don't be." Takano grabbed Arctic's chin and maneuvered her lips onto his. After a few seconds, she broke the kiss. "Don't blame yourself," she said softly. "There is_ nothing _more I want than to see you happy. And if the thought of me is what's stopping you, then just forget about me, okay?"_

" _Why? Why do this for me? Why help a person who has no hope of recovery?"_

 _Takano smiled as if he just asked something stupid. "Because I love you, and you need to be the face of the guild's courage. And so you won't further lament: I wanted this. I want you to move on."_

 _Arctic looked down, his vibrant blue hair covering his eyes. "I can never win with you," Arctic grumbled as he moved his head up to look at his dead wife._

 _Takano merely smiled. "You really can't. Happy wife, happy life, Arctic."_

" _That's how it goes." Arctic stood back up, Takano following him shortly. He looked over to her and grabbed her shoulders. "What's your name?" Takano raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I need to know, so when I get out of here with everyone else, I'll be able to find your family, tell them what happened. They'll hate me, sure, but at least they'll get closure."_

"They _wouldn't care. I was all alone when I started this game, both IRL_ and _in-game. My name doesn't matter, Arctic." Takano gave Arctic another kiss, one which he returned. When they pulled back, Takano smiled once more. "Go. Be free; free to love, I meant. Skye seems like she likes you, y'know. And don't think I haven't noticed the way you feel about her."_

 _"Oh god, you saw that?"_

 _"_ _The Lovers' Tears never lie." Takano winked._

 _Arctic blushed slightly. "Thanks for this, Takano. I really needed this."_

" _We both know that if I didn't do this for you, you would've been aromantic for the rest of your life."_

" _Somehow, you're always right. I love you, Takano. Goodbye."_

" _Goodbye, Arctic. And please; move on. Live your life. It's like they say: if you truly love something…" Takano started as Arctic turned and walked away._

 _Arctic stopped and looked up. "...then you'll set it free. Rest In Peace, Takano." Arctic turned around to face his in-game wife, and former love. He was all alone._

 _Takano had moved on. Her soul, finally, was free from this world; from this game; from Arctic._

 **(x)**

Arctic woke up, covering his eyes from the early morning sun. Remembering what happened, he sat up and fingered his necklace, lost in thought.

" _Skye seems like she likes you, y'know. And don't think I haven't noticed the way you feel about her."_

"Takano…" Arctic said under his breath. He smiled warmly. "Thanks." He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a distant roar drawing near. "Hey, guys?" he said, teleporting down to the cave.

"Bleh!" Liz said in disgust as she let go of the metal ingot in her hands, Kirito catching it with ease.

"What'd I miss?" the hero asked as he walked up to them. Liz and Kirito screamed in surprise and, after realizing who it was, turned to give Arctic a glare.

"We found the metal," Kirito said as he tossed it to Arctic.

"Cool! Where?"

"Down here. This isn't an ordinary hole; it's the dragon's nest. And that's not a normal ingot you're holding."

"...Ohhhh," Arctic said after he realized what Kirito was telling him. "Eh, I've held worse things before. Speaking of dragons, I heard it roar and it's coming here."

"Get ready," Kirito said as he drew his sword. When the dragon reached the nest, it hovered down―only to feel two swords lodge in its back. It roared as it flew upwards, dragging Arctic, Kirito, and Liz before it threw the latter two up. Arctic held on and, after noticing the boss's HP bars hadn't regenerated, jumped up and sliced the head off, leaving it to shatter and the game to congratulate him, giving him the last attack bonus.

Quickly looking it up, he read the following:

" _Blizzard Blazer (S Class)_

 _Trench Coat_

 _Equip Now?"_

Arctic chose _"Yes"_ , and the coat formed, replacing his current one. Deciding to look later, he dive bombed towards Liz and Kirito.

 **Meanwhile...**

Liz screamed as she fell down. She stopped when she saw the early morning sun. "Wow…Look at that…" she said in awe. "Kirito! You know what?!" she shouted towards the beater, the wind rushing through her ears making it hard to hear her speak.

"What?!" he shouted back.

"Don't freak out, but I'm falling in love with you!"

"I can't hear a thing! What did you just say?!"

Liz laughed as she hugged Kirito. "Never mind!"

"Liz!" She and Kirito looked up to see Arctic stretch his hand out towards them. "Grab on!" he shouted.

 **(x)**

The people of Lindas were going about their day peacefully, blissfully unaware of the next few events.

That peace was interrupted when Arctic jumped down and landed in a crouch, creating a small crater while he stood back up. He stretched his arms out and caught Lisbeth, gently setting her down. After hearing a third scream above them, all Arctic did was extend his arm to the side, letting Kirito get _really_ intimate with said arm before he fell flat on his back. "You couldn't carry me, either?" the beater got out through the pain.

Arctic scoffed. "I'm not carrying _your_ black-clad ass."

"Dick." Kirito accepted the hand Arctic offered him, and stretched, hearing his back pop in various places. "Nice coat. Where'd you get it?"

"I killed X'rphan." Arctic looked down at his new coat. It held the exact same shape as the coat he wore as Shadow, but the colors went from an icy blue at the hood and shoulders, turning into an ultramarine shade as it traveled down to his middle, getting progressively darker as it reached the ends, finally turning into a midnight blue color that bordered on black.

"It looks good on you," Liz noted. Arctic smiled at her.

"Thank you! Now, let's go make Kirito's sword."

 **Later...**

"A one-handed longsword, right?" was Liz's only question as she prepared to put her master smithing skills to work.

"Yep. Make it awesome," Kirito smiled. Liz smiled back and got to work.

 _I didn't imagine it. The warmth of Kirito's hands...The way I feel..._ she silently chuckled sadly. _Then again, my romantic life doesn't really work the way I want it to. First Arctic...then Solar...now Kirito...Maybe things'll be different. As soon as I've made the best sword I can, I'll tell him._

When the sword was finished, she held it up to reveal an aqua-colored blade with a dark-colored straight grip. Its crossguard was exactly perpendicular to the hilt and looked like conjoined daggers, held together by an aquamarine gem. The blade was aquamarine, and the attachment at the base gave it a slight indent.

"Kick-ass," Arctic whispered in awe upon seeing the blade.

"The sword is called Dark Repulsor. One of a kind. And it's not even in the info broker's directory," Liz explained. Kirito picked it up.

"Don't break it," Arctic joked, prompting Kirito and Liz to laugh slightly.

"It's real heavy…" Kirito said as he analysed the sword. "It's a good sword. It feels like you forged your soul into it."

"Yay!" Liz said to herself.

"Okay, you held up your end of the deal. It's time for me to pay up. So how much?" From the side, Arctic waited for Liz to charge Kirito about five times the actual price.

"Well, I don't...really need any money," Liz replied, surprising Arctic.

"Excuse you?" Arctic stated. "Have you forgotten what we went through?"

"True, but I'd like to be the exclusive blacksmith for Kirito _and_ the Tri-Blade Alliance."

Arctic gave a surprised noise, while Kirito asked, "What do you mean, exclusive?"

"I mean, when either one of you is in town," Liz responded with a small blush, "stop by and let me do maintenance on your gear. Every day!"

"Liz, I…" Kirito started.

"Liz!" Asuna shouted, barging into the back room. "I was so worried!" she continued, pulling the blacksmith into a hug.

"Asuna?" Liz asked in shock.

"Liz, where were you last night? I tried messaging, but you didn't answer and I couldn't track you!" Asuna broke the hug to look into her friend's eyes.

"Sorry, I kinda got stuck in a dungeon...with him," Liz replied, singling out Kirito.

"Hey, Asuna," Kirito smiled at the vice commander. "Long time no see. It's been what, like, two days?"

"K-Kirito?!" Asuna asked in shock, before smiling. "You should've told me you wanted to check this place out. I could have come with you!"

"I'm sorta confused. Do you know each other?" Liz asked.

"Yeah," Kirito replied, "both of us are on the assault team, so…"

"Why is she acting like that?" Asuna asked Kirito sternly. "I swear if you did anything to her…!"

"I-I didn't DO anything!" Kirito was quick to defend himself.

"Then why'd you stutter just now, hmmm?" Asuna asked jokingly. Liz remained silent.

"You know, you could try to show a little more compassion. I almost got killed!"

"And I died," Arctic stated, drawing a scream from the vice commander of the K.O.B. "You don't get to say _anything_ about that!"

"How long were _you_ there?" Asuna asked, a hand on her chest to stop her racing heartbeat.

"Long enough to know: I'll leave you three alone. I'll be outside." Arctic walked out of the shop.

"Anyway, like you're nearly dying is _my_ fault! Don't I always tell you not to fight solo?"

"Right. I get it now," Liz said to herself, realizing the type of thing the other two had.

"If this guy said anything rude, you'd tell me, right?...Liz?" Asuna asked, worried at her friend's unusual level of silence.

"You wanna talk about rude?"Liz stated with a smile. "Try this! First thing he does when he comes in is shatter my best sword!"

"What?! I'm sorry!" Asuna apologized for Kirito's douchebaggery. Liz leaned in close to Asuna.

"He might be a little weird, but he's not such a bad guy. Don't screw this up, he's a keeper," Liz whispered to the vice commander.

Asuna blushed. "B-But I told you, it's not like that!"

Liz leaned away. "Sorry, I have to go pick up some supplies. I'll be right back!" Liz ran out the door.

"Y-you're leaving the store?" Asuna asked in shock.

"Hold down the fort for me," was Liz's only reply as she ran out the shop.

 **Later…**

"Liz?" The blacksmith-in-question looked up with a sad expression when she heard Arctic call her name.

"I thought I could get away with it," Liz said sadly, barely registering the sound of Arctic sitting next to her. "A couple more minutes and I would've gone back to my usual cheerful self."

"What happened? I saw you run out of the shop, and I know you weren't getting supplies."

"Sorry if I worried you," Liz apologized, looking up at Arctic. "I'm fine now. Must have been all the excitement. I'm not used to having adventures."

Arctic raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Then why the hell are you friends with me and the guild?"

"That's different. You look out for me. Kirito saved me, but…"

Arctic wrapped an arm around Liz, who leaned in. "Liz, you knew what happened to me, right?"

Liz scoffed. "It's common knowledge now. Takano died, and you became a Shadow of glory. If you don't know, that means you fought for good, but purely for yourself."

"You know me so well. But what you _didn't_ know was the internal struggles I dealt with on a daily basis. And I wanted to thank you, Liz."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

"That's what _you_ think. Just by being there, you helped me fight through all my pain and focus on becoming altruistic instead of glorious; you helped remind me that I had a reason to keep living. And because of you, I was always happy that I decided to live through the day."

"Arctic…" Liz smiled and leaned in close. "Thanks. For being my friend."

"Anytime. Now, I wanted to tell you something."

"Hmm?"

"I had a dream." And so, Arctic told Liz of the "dream" he had last night. At the end of it, Liz felt a tear stream down her cheek.

"That's so sweet! Does this mean you're back?"

"Almost."

"Y'know, you and Skye would look so cute together!"

"Why not you and me?" Liz blushed furiously and stuttered, failing to come up with an answer as Arctic roared in laughter. "I'm just kidding. You're one of my best friends, but you can do better than me. Maybe not Kirito, but…"

"Weren't you supposed to comfort me?"

"I _am_ comforting you."

"Don't quit your day job."

"You mean being an overall badass?"

"That's Solar's job. Your job is being a dark, brooding, attractive mercenary."

"Gee, thanks." Arctic got up and helped Liz up. "Let's back to your shop. Asuna's gotta be worried sick."

"Sure. And remember…" Liz smiled and gave Arctic a two-fingered salute. "You'll always be welcome at my shop!"

 **(x)**

 **Elsewhere, later that night…**

"Whatcha doing?" Akira asked as she walked up to her lover, who was currently on the balcony and staring at the full moon. "You're not going to turn into a werewolf, are you?"

"Hah hah," Solar said as he rolled his eyes. "I'm just thinking about an offer someone made me."

"What is it?"

"The guy who I rented this place from. He made me an offer to buy this place for a fairly cheap price. At first, I declined. Then I got thinking, and told him that I'd have my final answer by tomorrow."

"Are you going to buy it?"

"I think I might. I've been thinking about it."

"Why would you need to buy it?"

Solar turned and smiled at Akira. "For when we get married, obviously."

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile, at an open-air café…**

Asuna looked up from her drink as something bothered her. "You good?" Arctic asked as Asuna got up.

"My shipping senses are tingling," Asuna seriously said, causing Arctic to get up.

"Who and where?" Arctic asked as he took out his Gray Star.

"Solar and Akira."

"I know where they are. Don't ask." With that, Arctic teleported away to where his pseudo-brother was.

 **(x)**

"There you are," Arctic whispered to himself as he peered out to the balcony, sticking to the shadows to remain unseen. Right now, he was thanking whatever God was up there for his maxed-out straining.

"For when we get married, obviously."

"W-What?!" Arctic's eyes widened as he saw Akira taking a step back in shock.

"Fairly certain I didn't stutter. Do you want me to ask you?"

"I hear you, crystal clear. But...why?"

Solar placed his hands on the railing as he leaned over it slightly. "Well, because I love you. Do I really need any other reason?"

"No, you don't. But what brought this on?" Akira asked as she walked to Solar's side and wrapped her arms around his.

"Call me cliche, but I guess it's because I want to make sure our love is real."

"Could you elaborate?"

"I was getting there, cool your jets. I mean, you and I are, right now, a bunch of ones and zeroes, just like everything else in this game. Just like every _one_ else in this game. I think that, when we get out of here, I don't want to forget this feeling. I don't want my experiences here, good _and_ bad, to be just...nothing once this game is done. I guess that applies to my feelings, too."

Akira was silent for a moment, scaring Solar and, eventually, Arctic. The latter was waiting for her answer, and was relieved when she finally began talking. "You wanna know something, Solar?" Solar looked away from the moon, and looked into her bright green eyes. "I feel the same. And I think I get where you're coming from. After all, you helped me that day, remember?"

Solar chuckled. "How could I forget? You were a mace user at the time, if I recall correctly. We walked together to the next town, and I sent you a friend request."

"Yeah, that was it. If you hadn't been there, I probably would've gotten lost." Akira shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm getting off-track. I developed a crush on you that day, and I _still_ can't believe we're together. I guess, like you, I want to keep this love real."

"So, that means…"

Akira smiled before moving up to kiss Solar. When they pulled back, she said, "Of course I'll marry you!"

Solar broke into a wide grin before he pulled Akira close and gave her a hug she gladly returned. Unbeknownst to them, Arctic had begun smiling in glee while in his cover. He put away his audio crystal, having recorded the entire conversation since he heard the first line. _Asuna's going to_ scream. He turned to leave before his eye caught Solar's new O-Katana. He picked it up and looked it over before smiling. "Now _this_ is a katana!" Arctic said quietly before placing the sword down. He grabbed his crystal and teleported away, eager to tell Asuna what happened.

 **(x)**

"WHAT?!" Asuna damn near shouted in glee once Arctic played the message for her. "That's amazing!"

"They finally tied the knot," Kirito said with a huge smile.

"'Bout time!" Liz said happily as she closed up shop.

"Should we start planning the party?" Arctic asked, a smile on his face as well.

"Already working on it!" Asuna replied cheerfully. "You can head home."

"Yeah, I bet everyone's worried sick. I'll see you all later."

Everyone waved goodbye as Arctic teleported back to the guild house.

 **(x)**

Arctic sighed heavily as he entered the Tri-Blade Alliance's guild house, quietly shutting the door to avoid making any more noise. He silently trekked up the stairs, and breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to make it to the door leading to his room.

"And where have _you_ been?" a voice asked from behind him. Wincing at the coldness lacing the voice, Arctic turned to face an angry Skye, who had crossed her arms to further reflect her emotions.

"I was out," he responded sheepishly.

"Uh-huh. For two days?"

"Correction: I was helping Liz, who is now the Kirito- and guild-exclusive blacksmith."

"Yeah, that's great. Why didn't you message us?"

"I didn't think it'd take that long."

"So? You didn't feel _any_ desire to let us know you're okay? I thought you died _again_." To this, Arctic had no reply, and simply hung his head low as the livid female continued. "We already lost you once, okay? We can't afford to lose you again." Arctic noticed his necklace glowing faintly as his friend ranted on about safety and whatnot.

" _The Lover's Tears never lie,_ " her voice echoed in his head. Arctic allowed himself a small smile as the true meaning of those words finally dawned on him. _She's angry because she cares._ Before Skye could continue any further with her ranting, Arctic grabbed her face gently and let his lips fall onto hers. The sudden action surprised the tactician, before she wholeheartedly returned the kiss. Breaking the kiss after a few seconds, the hero smiled warmly as he wiped away his lover's tears.

"Better?" he softly asked the tactician, who smiled and nodded.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" she jokingly asked her new boyfriend.

"You're not mad at it, though."

"No, I'm not." The two locked lips again, breaking it only when they heard something outside. They moved towards the nearest window, and gasped in surprise at what greeted them upon drawing the curtains back.

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile, back at Floor 35…**

" _Do you want to marry Solar?_ " Akira pressed yes without any hesitation, and her eyes lit up in glee when a marriage icon showed up next to her name. She took a look at her inventory and saw that everything Solar had in his inventory was now shared with her.

"I love you so much," Akira said, happy this was actually happening.

"Ditto." Solar leaned in to kiss his wife. Once they broke the kiss, Solar noted, "Is it cold?"

"Shouldn't be. It's a little before summer, isn't it?"

"True." The newlyweds looked out through the windows-and were surprised to see that it was snowing. "Snow? Now?"

"Let's go check it out!" Akira grabbed Solar's hand and opened the window, stepping out onto the balcony. Some snow had fallen down and landed on the balcony, and began layering. Solar knelt down and took some in his hand, marveled at the chill the snow sent down his hand. He felt more chill when he got hit in the side of the head with a snowball. Once he steadied himself, he glared at Akira, who was stifling in laughter and holding another snowball. Solar quickly gathered some snow and made a snowball, making sure to aim at Akira's hand to get her to drop the ball once he threw it. Akira pouted. "No fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, sweetie!" Solar made another snowball and threw it Akira as she raised her arms to defend her face. The two began laughing as they threw more snow at each other, having fun in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Eventually, the two stopped, feeling cold from all the snow, and were currently hugging each other for warmth as they watched the snow fall from inside their (soon to be) new house. Akira had made some hot cocoa for the two of them, and they were sipping it as they watched the snow and as they snuggled together underneath the blanket that was draped around their shoulders. "That was fun," Solar remarked as he drank his cocoa.

"Yup," Akira responded as she sipped hers. She looked up at Solar and gave him a kiss on the cheek, surprising the leader. He looked down at her as she closed her eyes and smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Solar kissed Akira on the forehead, and the two leaned into each other. "So it's over tomorrow, right? This, I mean."

Akira sighed. "Back to business."

"Yeah." Solar checked the time. "Shit, it's nearing midnight. We should get some sleep."

"Yeah, we should." Without another word, the two got up and walked together to their room, still covered by the blanket. When the morning came, the entire area looked as if it was in the middle of summer: not a single snowflake anywhere.

 **(x)**

 **End of Solar and Akira's Vacation…**

 **June 21, 2024**

"Why is so dark?" Akira complained slightly.

"I don't know!" Solar replied. "I'll turn the lights on." Solar's hand reached for the light switch was, and he felt relieved when he felt the switch beneath his hand. He wasn't prepared for what happened when he flipped the lights on.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" The elite members of the Tri-Blade Alliance, Kirito, Asuna, Wyvern's Inferno, Fuurinkazan, Bella (surprisingly), Silica, Liz, and even Heathcliff, yelled (except Heathcliff).

"WHAT AND HOW?!" Solar shouted as his hand instinctively went for his sword.

"Whoa, whoa!" Arctic and the others raised their hands defensively. "Calm down, man!"

"Sorry. What and how?" Solar asked more calmly. Arctic merely pointed to Asuna, who was right next to him. All the vice commander did was smile and give the two a thumbs up.

"Y'know, I figured Asuna had something to do with this. What's this about?" Solar questioned his best friend.

"You getting married," everyone replied.

"HOW DID YOU EVEN―?!" Again, Arctic used both of his hands to motion to Asuna, who was now grinning widely and giving the newlyweds two thumbs up.

"Figures," Akira sighed, not surprised at Asuna's antics.

"We're throwing a party in the training fields, and everyone _else_ is over there," Klein explained.

"Who's 'everyone else'?" Akira asked as she crossed her arms.

"You'll just have to see," Arctic smiled.

"Do we at least get wedding gifts?" Solar joked.

Arctic's smile faltered. "How do you know about that?"

"Wait, you _actually_ got us wedding gifts?"

"Let's go now!" Without another word, and ignoring the cries of protest from the newlyweds, Arctic grabbed his crystal and teleported away, everyone else following his example with regular teleport crystals.

Solar and Akira looked towards each other. Akira shrugged, and Solar sighed. They grabbed their teleport crystals and said, "Teleport: Tri-Blade Fields!" They disappeared in a flash of blue light.

 **(x)**

"They're here!" Pearce called as the newlyweds appeared in a flash of blue light.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" The soldiers of the both the Tri-Blade Alliance and the Knights of the Blood Oath, Ghost and Rider, Agil, and Argo shouted.

"Thanks, everyone," Solar said as he smiled and waved at the partygoers.

"Let's get this party started!" Arctic called, eliciting cheers from everyone.

Once Eros got up on a platform that was set up earlier and began performing, everyone began dancing and grooving to the tunes, save for a select few. That included Arctic, Skye, Solar, Akira, just about everyone of their friends, and Heathcliff. "Congrats, man," Ren said as he clapped Solar on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Solar said as he smiled.

"Hey, Akira?" Dagger drew the newlywed's attention to herself. Dagger smiled. "Helios has something he wants to give you."

"Dagger! That was supposed to be a surprise!" Helios glared at his girlfriend, who shrugged while smiling. Helios sighed before turning to Akira and opening his menu. "Here. From one axe-user to another. Think of it as a...sign of respect."

"You shouldn't have," Akira smiled at the ash-haired teen. Her eyes widened when she was what Helios gave her. "A decorative axe?! How?!"

Helios shrugged. "I had to threaten the mannish-looking blacksmith to make it, and she couldn't believe I was doing it for someone other than me."

"You mean Liz? If you did anything to her, I swear…"

"She's fine. Her _and_ her shop."

"Reluctantly, we'll trust you," Solar interfered. He looked back towards Ren and offered his fist for a fist bump. "Enjoy the party, man."

"Thanks, man." After fist bumping Solar, Ren, Helios, Dagger, and Riku left.

"Congratulations, you two!" Alice pulled Akira in for a hug, which was returned.

"Yeah! We thought you'd _never_ get married!" Mai rolled her eyes for emphasis, but maintained a smile on her face.

Solar smiled before patting Mai on the head. "Thanks, kid. You watch over Helios now, y'hear?" Solar winked at Mai, who smiled and nodded.

"Hope you guys enjoy Helios' gift!" After a brief hug with Solar, Alice and Mai left to enjoy the party.

 **Meanwhile…**

Arctic smiled as he watched Solar and Akira get gifts from Ren and his guild. He didn't bother turning when he heard the silent footfalls of BellaLux stop next to him. "I already lost the bet. You don't have to sneak up anymore."

"It's a staple to my character, Arctic," Bella stated as she stood next to him. "I wanted to talk."

"As always. About what?" Arctic took a sip from his drink.

"Congratulations." The single-word statement made Arctic stop drinking as he looked towards the female in confusion.

"For what?" Bella smiled knowingly and motioned towards Skye, who was jubilantly chatting with Kirito. "Oh. Thanks. Do you _ever_ turn off your observation habits?"

"I don't." A moment of silence passed. "I can't," Bella corrected herself.

"Ah. Well, good news for you: you can stop checking up on me. And what about _you_? You gonna get with someone?"

"It depends."

"Right. See you later." Bella nodded her goodbye as she and Arctic walked away from each other.

"What was that about?" Solar asked as he walked up to Arctic.

"Don't worry about it. Congrats on your marriage, Solar," Arctic replied as he drank from his cup.

"Thanks. So who planned this whole thing?"

"Asuna, Skye, and all of the other girls." Solar raised an eyebrow at Arctic, who nodded in confirmation. "I'm not kidding, they did this all in one day."

"Damn, they're good."

"Boss!" Both males turned to see Pearce walk up to them. "You got a moment?"

"You need to talk in private, Pearce?" Solar drank from his cup.

Pearce shook his head. "Here's fine. Besides," the Advent Archer looked over at the Silent Savior, "Arctic might wanna hear this."

"What's this about?" Arctic crossed his arms.

"You remember when you asked me where my loyalties lied?" Arctic nodded, intriguing Solar. "I've decided: when this game is cleared, and I'm still alive, I won't stop playing VRMMO's. Even after SAO, and the trauma it caused, I'll keep playing. And I guarantee that you'll see me in the next game we play."

"That's good to hear, Pearce." Arctic raised his glass in respect for the Archer before he drank what was left.

"Wait, what's this about?" Solar asked in confusion. "What happened while I was gone?"

"We'll tell you later," Arctic promised. "For now, though, just enjoy the party." Solar shrugged and went to rejoin Akira. The party was going good, and everyone was having fun. Soon after, however, an unexpected event occurred.

Skye was laughing with Liz at a joke Arctic made, before she felt a chill run down her spine when something light fell on her head. She reached a hand to her hair and touched it, feeling something wet in her hair. She examined her hand before feeling cold. She looked around her and her eyes widened when she was what was happening. "Does anyone else see the snow?"

All the partygoers were following Skye's example and marveled at the amount of snow falling. In a couple minutes, the snow reached their shins, because of how intense the snowfall was.

"Anyone wanna go inside for hot chocolate?" Everyone immediately agreed to the action Arctic had just suggested, and soon the whole party area cleared out as everyone teleported back to the guild's base, which was closest to their location.

 **(x)**

 **A/N: Oh my god, this was THE longest chapter we had ever written! We tried to keep it going, but we ran out of ideas for this chapter, and had to cut it off here.**

 **S/N: Till next time!**

 **A/N: And as always, Read And Review!**


	26. Chapter 26: Brought to Light

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 26: Brought to Light**

 **A/N: There's something new we're trying this chapter, and it's at the end. Also, I'm fitting in both "The Sword Dance of Black and White" AND "The Blue-Eyed Demon", with some omissions. Just letting you know.**

 **S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own Sword Art Online.**

 **A/N: Oh, and one last thing… *walks over to you and grabs you by your shirt collar* Do not, and I repeat DO NOT, ask us to do more KiriSuna moments. We'll add them when necessary, skip them when necessary, and create new ones when necessary. Capische?**

 **S/N: Dude, calm down. As much as I agree with you, you can't hurt the readers.**

 **A/N: … *lets go of your collar* You should be glad he was here. *turns and leaves***

 **S/N: I'll… try to calm him down. *rushes after Arctic***

 **(x)**

 **July 15, 2024**

Arctic opened his eyes tiredly as the rising sun forced him to awaken from his slumber. He sat up from his bed and yawned as he stretched. Upon hearing shifting noises from his bed, he turned to see Skye sleeping on the side next to where he originally lied. He smiled upon seeing her peaceful expression and got dressed, having chosen not to wake her up yet.

Once he put on the last pieces of his equipment, he sat down next to his girlfriend, light as a feather. He poked her face, saying, "Wake up." He stopped only when she slapped his hand away.

"I'm up," she grumbled before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her sun-colored orbs. Noticing Arctic sitting beside her fully dressed, she looked at him questioningly.

"You looked so cute and peaceful, I couldn't muster enough evil to wake you up," he clarified with an apologetic smile. Skye merely smiled warmly and pinched his cheek.

"Next time, just wake me up." She stood up and stretched while yawning. "Don't look this way," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Arctic responded with an eyeroll, and turned in the opposite direction. Once she gave him the all-clear, he turned back around to face Skye.

"What's on your belt?" she asked as she pointed to the various silver trinkets connected to Arctic's belt.

"Silver to keep the werewolves away. I figured I'd leave Solar to deal with the vampires and you to handle the ghosts."

"Ha ha," Skye said sarcastically.

"In all seriousness, though, they're trophies. Of the murder guilds I took down."

"Ew, why would you wear those?" she questioned her boyfriend as they left the room.

"Say what you will; these provide some extremely useful buffs."

"Right. Well, what's on the agenda today?"

"Well, it _is_ a free day. Maybe…" Arctic put a hand to his chin in thought. He snapped his fingers after planning his actions today. "Can you get Solar or Asuna to set up a meeting with Heathcliff?"

"What? Why?" Skye sent Arctic a questioning look his way.

"Shadow kept a lot of secrets; this one needs to be brought to light."

 **(x)**

Heathcliff turned to face guest with a questioning look. "You wish to hold a meeting between all of the front-line players?"

"I also want to make it live for the civilians." Arctic bowed his head in apology. "Forgive me, Commander Heathcliff. I know I'm asking a lot of you."

"Nonsense," Heathcliff replied with a kind smile and a wave of his hand. "You and I are friends, Arctic. There is no need for such formalities. But I do wonder: why such a large audience for a small meeting?"

"It's not so much a meeting as it is a revelation; this is one secret I want to make public."

Heathcliff retained his smile. "Understood. I shall set up a space for you and have as many robots as I can spare recording."

Arctic picked his head up and smiled. "My thanks, Heathcliff. You don't know what this means to me."

"No worries, my friend. I shall see you soon."

 **(x)**

"You sure you wanna do this?" Arctic turned to face Solar after the latter had spoken his question.

"I have to. I want everyone to know this secret, at least."

"If you say so." Solar left with Akira and Skye, giving the soon-to-be speaker time to compose himself. Eventually, Arctic left the room and approached the center of the stage, while the audience cheered upon his arrival. He turned to look back at his friends, who were sitting beside him. They smiled and encouraged him to start.

The hero cleared his throat as he faced the audience. "Thank you all for coming," he started. "And thank you, to those that are watching at home. Today, I have something to share with you. But before I get to that, I'll tell you a story first.

"The following event took place the same day after one of the most horrific events to have plagued everyone in Aincrad. I am, of course, referring to the Shadow Killings." Angry grumbles issued from the crowd. "Please calm down. Now, as I was saying, I was making my usual rounds of marking off what to sell the next day. To this day, I _still_ don't know what prompted me to do it, but I did; I checked the 'Settings' option, and there it was." Arctic fell silent, and simply looked down to avoid the gaze of the audience.

"What was there?" a voice called out from the crowd. Arctic merely rubbed his eyes with two fingers and looked up, smiling sadly.

"'Would you like to logout?'" An uproar immediately ensued as the hero let the phrase escape his lips. He looked at his friends, and wasn't surprised to see them all staring at him in complete shock. "You heard right," he continued, facing the crowd once more. "I was given the option to logout of SAO."

"Why didn't you?" another player questioned.

"I'm not gonna lie, I damn near pressed yes. But then I thought of my friends; what I helped establish; the front-line fighters; and the helpless victims who had already resigned themselves to the possibility that they've no hope of escaping; and, most importantly, of the promise I had made."

"And that was?" Schmitt of the Holy Dragon Alliance asked the Tri-Blade Alliance's former leader.

"The promise was…" Arctic held a fist up to his face, and everyone felt the fire in his eyes ignite within them. "That I'd help get everyone out of the hell known as Sword Art Online, even at the cost of my life!" At the last few words, Arctic drew his Darkness Blade and raised it high, and everyone cheered and raised their weapons up in response, feeling hope instead of fear from the forbidden weapon.

 **(x)**

 **October 17, 2024**

 **Floor 74: Forest**

 _That was three months ago. As a result of that speech, all of the front line fighters fought with a renewed vigor, and made sure to keep the casualties to a minimum. Hell, we even made it all the way to Floor 74 in that short amount of time._ Kirito smiled to himself as he watched Arctic and Bella chat jubilantly ahead of him. He was confused as to why they both teleported away, until they came back not a second later.

"I can't believe it's still there!" Bella managed to let out through her laughter.

"Told you I wasn't lying," Arctic said, laughing with Bella.

"What wasn't there?" Kirito asked, confused as to what the topic of their humor is.

"The Kirito-sized hole you made in X'rphan's nest," Arctic answered.

"Y'know, I was wondering when you were going to show Bella," Kirito said with an annoyed look.

"Anyone hear that?" Kirito strained to hear what Arctic had heard, until Bella spoke up.

"I hear…" she stated with her eyes closed. A moment later, she opened them, and she smiled as her quicksilver eyes shone. "Rabbits."

"You mean 'dinner', right?" Arctic rhetorically asked, drawing a throwing knife while Bella and Kirito both drew throwing picks. They dashed towards the area Bella pointed towards, and hid in the greenery. Three rabbits with red eyes picked up on the noise they made, and ran in separate directions. Altogether, the three players got out of hiding and threw their weapons.

The dying squeals of tonight's dinner was all that filled the morning air.

 **(x)**

"No way!" Agil said in awe when Kirito had showed the shopkeep what he caught with Bella and Arctic. "This is an S-class rare item! This is the first time I've ever seen one!"

"I'm letting that slide because you sold me an S-class _weapon_ ," Arctic merely remarked before taking another bite out of his sandwich as he leaned on the wall next to Agil's desk.

"Right. Sorry. But don't you already have all the money you need? I'll buy it, but wouldn't you rather eat it?"

"Sure, but who knows if I'll ever get another one?"

"Just go hunting with me again," Arctic replied, letting himself be known once again. "That should answer your question."

"I know, but you'll need an insanely high cooking skill to prepare an item like this."

"Yeah, you're right. If we tried, we'd just burn it," Agil said.

"I dunno about you, but I know at _least_ 6 people within my guild who can prepare an S-class meal."

"And they are…?"

"Skye, Eros, Akira, Cupid, Solar, and Pearce."

"Wait, Pearce?" Kirito and Agil both asked with flabbergasted expressions.

"You guys are surprised that Pearce can cook, but not at the fact that Solar can?" Arctic questioned.

"We know Solar can cook," Agil responded.

"Hmmm…" Kirito put a hand to his chin in thought. "Can we borrow one of―?"

"Kirito!" a voice said from behind the three men. They all turned to see Asuna standing just inside the doorway, with an unpleasant-looking man standing a little behind her.

"I've got my chef!" Kirito softly proclaimed as he took one of Asuna's hand into both of his own.

"...?" Asuna had a confused expression on her face.

"Ahem," the unpleasant man said from the doorway, prompting Kirito to let go of Asuna's hand.

"H-hey, Asuna!" Kirito said, clearly happy to see his friend again. "Seeing you in a dump like this is weird."

"That's not very nice," Arctic remarked.

"Oh, save it. I came to see if you were still alive. It's almost time for the next boss raid," Asuna responded to the beater.

"Yes, I am still alive," Arctic interjected. "Don't worry, I'll be there."

"Well, hello to you too, Arctic." Arctic jubilantly waved back. "Anyway," she continued, turning back to Kirito, "what's all this about a chef?"

"Oh, yeah. I was wondering what your cooking skill level is," the beater explained.

"50,000 Col says she maxed it out recently," Arctic murmured to the shopkeep.

"Double or nothing, she maxed it out long ago," Agil replied in the same manner.

"Hehe, totally maxed it out last week," Asuna said triumphantly. Immediately after she said that, Arctic slammed Agil's desk and pointed a finger at the shopkeep.

"You owe me 100,000 Col!" he proudly declared. Noticing the stares of the chatting players, he quickly added, "Oh, don't mind me. Keep going."

"Right. Anyway, if you're that good, I need a favor," Kirito said, ignoring what just happened. He pulled up the item he wanted Asuna's help with, and the vice commander's jaw dropped upon seeing the item.

"Wha-?!" She looked at Kirito in shock. "Y-you got...a Ragout Rabbit?!"

"So, I'll trade you." This statement brought Asuna's attention back to the black-clad player. "All you have to do is cook it up for me, and I'll let you have a little bite." Kirito was surprised when Asuna leaned over and grabbed him by his collar.

"Half," was all she said as she pulled him closer. "Deal?"

"Y-yeah, deal," Kirito quickly consented to the female's terms out of fear for his life.

"Alright!" Asuna smiled widely as she let Kirito go. As soon as he was released, he turned to Agil.

"Sorry, pal," he said. "Guess I'm keeping it," he finished as he walked out of the shop.

"Yeah, but you can at least let me taste it, right?" Agil begged of the beater. "I thought we were tight, man!"

"I'll write a review for you, but only two pages. Promise!" Kirito called over his shoulder as he and Asuna left the shop.

"T-that's cold…" Agil was brought out of his sorrows when Arctic put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, buddy. You finally get to go to my house!" Arctic stated with a humorous smile.

"You're not gonna rephrase that anytime soon, are ya?" Agil asked, sweat dropping.

"You should know the answer by now."

"So, where am I going to cook it?" Asuna asked the beater.

"Uh, well…" Kirito smiled awkwardly. Asuna sighed in exasperation.

"I'm guessing not your place. Do you even own any cookware? Okay," she said without waiting for an answer, "because the main ingredient is special, I won't mind if we use my place."

"Hold on, ma'am," Asuna's escort said, attracting the attention of the other two outside. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go home with such a shady character."

"I don't know how shady he is," Asuna retorted, "but I do know he is skilled. Ten levels above you, in fact, Kuradeel." The argument was causing a scene, as apparently, a crowd had gathered around the three.

"Are you implying I'm inferior to him?" Kuradeel asked, clearly offended. "Oh, I know. He's one of those beaters, isn't he?"

"Yeah, what if I am?" Kirito replied.

"You shouldn't go with him, ma'am! All him and his scum kind care about are themselves!"

"Whoa, now!" Arctic stepped between the escort and beater, and put his hands up to stop them from approaching each other. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Kuradeel scoffed. " _You_ shouldn't be saying anything, mercenary! Your kind are far worse than his!" he spat, motioning to Kirito for reference. Arctic's eyes darkened at the insult.

"Watch what you say," he stated in a low voice. "Or Heathcliff will wonder why Asuna's bodyguard suddenly disappeared."

"That's enough, Kuradeel!" Asuna stepped in front of Kuradeel. "I'm the vice commander, and I order you to go home," she stated in a commanding tone.

"Tch!" Kuradeel walked away from the group. Asuna walked the other way with Kirito.

"Asuna!" The two assault team members turned to Arctic and Agil. "Can you send Skye a message for me?" the mercenary asked.

"Sure." Asuna prepared to send a message to the desired player. "What is it?"

"Tell her…" Arctic wrapped an arm around Agil's shoulder and pulled him in close. "That I'm bringing my bisexual lover home for dinner tonight, and nothing she or the others can say will change that." Agil immediately blushed bright red and struggled to get out of his friend's grip. "Come on, our love is nothing to be ashamed about," Arctic stated as he tightened his grip on Agil.

"That's not fair," the shopkeep choked out.

"You want that rabbit, you deal with my bullshit."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Yes, it is～!"

" _THAT'S! NOT! FAIR!_ "

" _FINE PRINT, MOTHERFUCKER! DO YOU READ IT?!_ "

"..." Asuna sent a _very_ watered-down version of Arctic's message to his girlfriend and walked away with Kirito, who couldn't stop laughing his ass off at the bickering "couple".

"Come on, didn't you find that funny?" Kirito asked the vice commander as he wiped away his tears.

"Oh no, I did," Asuna replied without looking at the beater. She looked back towards Arctic. Her smile was a mixture of sadness and relief. "But it's hard to see his jokes in the same light after everything that's happened with him."

"True. Y'know what I think?"

"What?"

"We shouldn't talk about this now." Kirito stretched as he and Asuna continued walking to the latter's home. "It'd be a waste to get the mood down before the main course."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's just go."

 **(x)**

 **Floor 61: Selmburg**

 **Asuna's Hometown**

"Whoa," Kirito softly said as he looked around Asuna's town. "So this is your hometown?" he said in a louder voice. "It's huge! And there's hardly anyone around...It's really cool."

"If you like it so much, why don't you move here?" Asuna asked the beater without looking back.

"I don't know, this floor seems way out of my price range…"

"Ask the Tri-Blade Alliance, or Arctic, for a small loan."

Kirito scoffed. "Please. With the amount I'd need, I'd be forced to work off that debt for as long as we're here―and then some. And I doubt Bella would help."

"Yeesh. Never mind, then."

"Anyway, what's the deal with that guy back there? He was mad-dogging me and Arctic like crazy…"

"It's dumb. The guild didn't have all these rules and regulations before. We were really small. Then more people kept joining up. When we became one of the strongest guilds, everything started getting weird." Kirito remained silent as he processed what the vice commander told him. "Well, i'm probably making a big deal out of it than it is. Anyway, we better hurry. It's getting dark."

 **At Asuna's home…**

"Wow, you've got a killer pad. How much did all this cost?" the beater inquired of the vice commander as they stepped into the home of the latter.

"Umm," Asuna started, looking around the room for reference, "the room and the furniture cost around four million Col...Anyway, make yourself at home."

"Holy moly, four million…" Kirito whispered as he sat down on one of the chairs. "I'm sure I've earned that much too, but blowing it all on a flat…?" He heard a sound behind him, and turned to see Asuna wearing casual clothes with an apron.

"Are you going to take your coat off or what?" Asuna asked Kirito, oblivious to his staring. Kirito snapped out of his stupor after she said that.

"O-oh, yeah, sorry." Kirito removed his coat and gave Asuna the main ingredient for their dinner.

"So this is the legendary S-class ingredient…" She began pondering on how to cook it, and turned to Kirito. "Okay, so how do you want this cooked up?"

"I thought I'd leave that decision up to the chef," Kirito replied, looking straight at Asuna.

"In that case…" She began to walk around the kitchen, gathering various vegetables and setting them down next to a countertop with a cutting board and kitchen knife. "How about we make it into a stew?" She got to work, cutting the vegetables and dumping them in the water-filled pot. "Ragout... That's pretty much the definition of a stew. In real life there'd be a lot more steps involved in preparing this. Cooking in SAO is so simple. Believe it or not, it's kind of boring." She placed the now-filled pot in an oven and set the temperature. "That takes care of that. Now for the next step. I was thinking about making a couple side dishes."

 **Later…**

"Heh, all done!" Asuna walked into the dining room and set the pot full of stew down in front of Kirito. He stood up in excitement as she made him a plate. Together, they both began to feast.

 **(x)**

The two let out contented sighs as they set their plates down. "My first S-class food ever in two years here," Asuna mused. "I'm so glad I survived long enough to eat that!"

"Yeah, me too," Kirito said in the same satisfied tone she shared.

"It's so weird. Sometimes, I get this feeling that I've lived here my entire life," Asuna said with a slightly sad look on her face.

"Me, too… In fact, there's days when I don't even think about the real world at all," Kirito said, now more serious than before. "It's not just me," he continued. "These days, more and more people don't seem to care about getting out of here."

"I guess they're all used to this place…"

"..." Kirito remained silent.

"But I want to go back. I mean, there are things I haven't done yet. I have to!"

"I know how you feel. And it's not fair to all those people who still count on us if we give up."

"Nuh uh, don't go there," Asuna interrupted before Kirito could speak again.

"What?"

"I've seen that look on guys' faces before and always right before they propose to me."

"WHA-?!" Kirito was now blushing in embarrassment at that thought.

"Heh, you should see your face!" Asuna smiled. "I guess you've never had a girlfriend before, hm?"

"...Whatever, I'm a solo player," Kirito replied as his blush disappeared.

"And you're okay with that?" Asuna questioned. She lost her smile as she said, "I know that beta players don't fit in with the guilds. But ever since we got to Floor 70…" Asuna thought of what to say next. "Things are getting more dangerous. The monster algorithms are even more irregular."

"Yeah…" Kirito agreed.

"There are things a solo player can't handle. Unexpected things. Warping out isn't always an option."

"Try telling that to Arctic."

"Even _his_ crystal has its limits."

"Well, I'm pretty careful anyway. And besides, I work better alone. Besides, party members just get in the way most of the time."

"Oh really?" In a flash, Asuna took a small kitchen knife and held in front of Kirito, ready to stab the beater. "Hmph!"

"M-My bad. Everyone except for you."

"And your friends."

"And my friends!"

"Good. So what do you say you and me team up again? Black's my lucky color this week anyway."

"H-Hold up a sec!" Kirito protested. "Don't you have stuff you have to do for your guild? You can't bail on them!"

"It's not like we have any leveling quotas to meet."

"W-Well, then what about your bodyguard?"

"I'll just ditch him," Asuna casually said as she sent Kirito a party request. "Okay?"

"The front lines ARE dangerous, though…" Kirito was interrupted when Asuna repeated her action with the kitchen knife from earlier, only charging it with a sword skill this time, and with her eyes darkened by a shadow. "O-Okay, fine!" Begrudgingly, Kirito accepted the party request and Asuna backed off.

"Well, I suppose thanks are in order for the meal, so… thank you."

"Thank YOU for cooking it. Next ti… ah, who am I kidding? I'll never land anything like that again."

"You could always―"

"Even though it benefits me, I am _not_ partying with Arctic and Bella again."

"That's your choice. Besides, you can make anything yummy if you have the skills to cook."

"..." For a moment, Kirito remained silent. _Seeing what this world's become since we got here… Is this really what Kayaba wanted to create?_

 **(x)**

"Where is she?" Kirito asked himself as he sat down at the edge of the massive teleport crystal at Kambet in Floor 74.

As he said that, the crystal behind him activated, and a voice called, "Gyaaaaaaaah! Watch out!"

"Wh-Wha―" was all Kirito had time to say before Asuna landed on top of him. "Owwwww…" Kirito groaned. His hand was currently grabbing something soft. "Huh? What is this thing?" He squeezed it once before realizing what it was.

"Y-You―!" Asuna knocked Kirito away into a nearby pillar.

"M-My head…" Kirito groaned as he rubbed the now sore spot on his head. He looked back over to Asuna, who was glaring at him angrily and was furiously blushing. "U-Um… H-Hey, good morning, Asuna…" the beater said cheerfully.

"..." Asuna kept glaring at Kirito.

"Why are you behaving like this, ma'am? I'm only following orders," Kuradeel said as he appeared in front of the crystal. "Please, let's go back to headquarters."

"I won't! Especially not with you. Why were you lurking around my house in the morning, huh?!" Asuna turned her gaze to Kuradeel.

"My mission is to guard you, no matter where you are, including your home."

Asuna now had a shocked look on her face. "No it isn't, you idiot!"

"I wish you were more understanding about this, ma'am. Now then, let's return to headquarters."

Kirito stepped in between them. "Sorry, but I'll be borrowing your vice commander for the day. You'll have to make do without her." Upon noticing Kuradeel's look, Kirito added, "Don't worry. It's not like we're going on a boss raid. You can go. She'll be fine with me."

"Insolent punk!" Kuradeel said with a look of rage contorting his face. "A low-level player like you could never protect her!"

"I can do a better job of it than _you_ ," Kirito replied.

"You've got a big mouth, kid. I'm going to give you a chance to prove just how tough you really are!" Kuradeel opened his menu and sent Kirito a duel request.

Kirito stared at the duel request for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry," Asuna interjected. "I'll tell the commander how this happened."

"Okay." Kirito accepted the duel request.

"Please move to a safe distance, ma'am," Kuradeel looked over at Asuna. "I'll prove beyond any doubt that I alone can protect you!"

As the beater and the bodyguard got ready to duel, several onlookers watched and muttered amongst themselves. "Kirito's gonna duel a guy from the Knights of the Blood Oath!" One onlooker said.

"This'll be fun to watch!" Another replied. Meanwhile, a strange man that no one payed attention to watched.

As the duel clock counted down, Kirito and Kuradeel stared each other down. As soon as the clock hit zero, Kuradeel rushed towards Kirito, who ran faster towards his opponent. There was the sound of steel hitting steel, and Kuradeel looked down at his weapon in shock to see it broken. "I-I can't believe it…!" Kuradeel gasped in shock when his weapon shattered in his hand.

"Holy-! He just destroyed his sword!" The First onlooker who spoke exclaimed to his friend.

"I'll be glad to take you on if you want to try again with another weapon. Or we can call it a day," Kirito calmly said as he sheathed his blade, and a 'winner' symbol appeared over him.

"Y-You punk!" Kuradeel growled. "Try this dagger on for size!" Kuradeel, as he was talking, equipped a dagger and rushed at the beater once again. However, Kuradeel's knife was knocked upwards by Asuna's rapier.

"A-Asuna…! I don't know how, but he cheated! You saw how he destroyed my sword!" Kuradeel attempted to justify his actions.

"..." Asuna remained silent.

"He must've used some kind of trick! There's no other way I could've lost to a pathetic beater like him!"

"..." Despite Kuradeel's accusations, Kirito remained silent.

"Kuradeel. As Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath," Asuna spoke, "I'm relieving you of your duties as my bodyguard. You will wait for further orders at headquarters."

"D-Damn you…" Kuradeel growled. He turned and walked to the teleport gate. "Teleport: Grandzam!" Kuradeel disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"I'm so sorry," Asuna said as she turned to face Kirito. "I didn't mean to drag you into that."

"No, it's no big deal," Kirito responded with a wave of his hand. "I'm worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I've been so focused on clearing the game, maybe I've been too demanding of the other members," Asuna explained as she looked around the town square.

"But do you think your guild would have gotten this far if you'd done anything different?" Kirito responded, prompting Asuna to face him again. "So what if you take a day off to team up with a loser like me? No one's got the right to complain."

"Heh, wow. Thank you for your opinion on the subject," Asuna said with a smile. "Okay, I accept your offer. I'll take a day off from the guild. You can play forward today," she finished as she walked away from the town square.

"H-huh? Wait a second!" Kirito called to her as he ran to catch up with his fellow party member. "Aren't we supposed to take turns as forward?"

 **(x)**

 **Floor 74: Boss Dungeon**

"Kirito, look!" Asuna said as she pointed to a door in front of the pair. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Uh-huh…" Kirito said as he affirmed her suspicions. "We found the boss room."

"What do we do? You think we should look inside?"

"Boss rooms never leave the rooms they guard. I think we'll be okay if we just take a a teleport crystal ready, just in case."

"Right." Asuna took out a teleport crystal.

"Alright, I'm opening it…" Kirito slowly opened the door, and they walked in. The room was completely dark, the only source of light being the open door. In front of them was a giant blue minotaurus sitting on a throne. When the two stepped further into the room, candles all around them lit up and the boss opened its eyes and roared. The boss's name read, _The Gleam Eyes_.

Kirito and Asuna ran out of there screaming at the top of their lungs.

 **(x)**

"That one's gonna be tough to beat," Asuna stated as she and Kirito sat down, leaning on one of the "pillars" located throughout the dungeon.

"You're right. I saw he only had that one big sword, and I'll bet it's got special attacks, too."

"We're gonna have to put tanks in the front row and keep switching out just to wear it down."

"Yeah, and it wouldn't hurt to have about ten shield users."

"Shield users, huh…" Asuna eyed the beater with an air of suspicion. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"What're you talking about?" Kirito asked, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I just realized something. The biggest advantage of using a one-handed sword is that you can also use a shield. But now that I think about it, I've never seen you using one."

"U-um, what about―?"

"Don't bring the Tri-Blade Alliance's elites into this. And besides, only Arctic, Solar, Skye, and Eros use swords, and Arctic also has the Grey Star, while Solar has the Quick Draw. Skye, Eros and I don't use shields because they'll slow us both down. Others don't because they think it looks dumb. But neither of those excuses apply to _you_ , do they? Very suspicious."

"..."

"Oh, never mind!" Asuna stated cheerfully, dropping the topic. "It's rude to ask people to justify their skills."

"Phew," Kirito said silently as Asuna opened her inventory.

"Since it's gotten so late," the vice commander said, holding out a sandwich to Kirito, "we might as well have lunch here!"

"Really?!" Kirito asked in glee. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Yep! But you'd better take your gloves off before you eat."

"Oh, right!" As Kirito removed his gloves, Asuna handed him the sandwich. Once he took a bite out of it, he remarked, "This is good! How'd you get it to taste so amazing?"

"I used Aincrad's spices," Asuna explained to the beater. "I've studied all their parameters in the flavor re-creation engine." She took out a bottle of green liquid and poured some on Kirito's outstretched hand. "This was made with grogua seed, shugra leaf, and calim water."

When Kirito tested it, his eyes widened. "What the―?! That tastes like mayonnaise!" Asuna took out a bottle filled with purple liquid.

"And I made _this_ using abilba seed, sag leaves, and ulafish bone."

"Whoa! That tastes exactly like―like soy sauce!"

"And that's what I made the sauce for the sandwich from."

"Amazing! It's perfect! Have you thought about selling these? 'Cause you'd make a fortune! Wait, no." Kirito looked down with his eyes closed. "You can't sell it."

"Huh?" Asuna asked, clearly confused. "But...why not?"

"Because there wouldn't be any left for me."

"Ugh, you're so greedy," Asuna stated as she rolled her eyes. She looked away with a slight blush on her cheeks. "If you like it that much, I could always make more…"

"Hm?" Kirito looked up in alarm. "Someone's coming!" Kirito and Asuna looked in front of them as Fuurinkazan walked up to them, with Klein being the lead.

"Hey, Kirito!" Klein smiled widely as he waved to Kirito. "How ya doin', buddy?"

Kirito smiled back as he stood up. "Hey, Klein. Still alive, huh?"

"Geez, you're the same as ever," Klein muttered before running up to his friend.

"Hm?" Asuna said in confusion.

Klein finally took notice of the girl that was standing next to Kirito. "Wait, whoa! You're a solo player. What the hell are you doing with a…" He took notice of the girl standing next to Kirito. "...A girl?!"

Kirito looked back and forth between the guild leader and the vice commander. "I, uh, could've sworn you met before at one of the boss fights, but I'll introduce you anyway." Kirito looked to Asuna and gestured to Klein. "This is Klein, of the Fuurinkazan guild." Kirito looked to the stunned Klein and gestured to Asuna. "And this is Asuna, of the Knights of the Blood Oath." Kirito took notice of Klein's current situation. Worried for his friend, he said, "Hey, c'mon,say something. Are you lagging or something?"

"Um, er, hi!" Klein spoke as he lowered his head to Asuna and held out his hand to her. "I'm Klein! I'm 24, and single, and looking for a girlfr―"

"HYAH!" Klein was cut off when Kirito punched him in the gut.

"Did he just punch the boss?!" One of the Fuurinkazan members shouted.

"Eh?!" Kirito said in bewilderment as the others crowded around him.

"..." For a moment, the rest of the guild was silent as they stared at Asuna. "WHOA! ARE YOU REALLY _THAT_ ASUNA?!"

"We're all such huge fans!" Another said.

Seeing Asuna getting a bit flustered, Kirito said, "Don't worry, it's cool! These guys are okay. Well, I don't know about Klein, but―" The beater was cut off when Klein, having fully recovered, stomped on his foot.

Klein wrapped his arm around Kirito and pulled him close, turning away from Asuna. "Heh! What'd you say about me, you little weasel?"

"Heh… Hehehehe!" Asuna giggled upon seeing this interaction.

"What's the deal, man? Spill it!" Klein egged Kirito for details about his 'relationship' with Asuna.

"Excuse me." The boys turned to look at Asuna. "Kirito and I are together because we're sort of...in a party."

"Kirito, you son of a―!"

"Hey! Kirito!" Asuna got Kirito's attention away from Fuurinkazan and pointed in the same direction the guild came from. Approaching them was a squadron of players, all dressed in battle armor and carrying lances. The one that was apparently leading the squadron had a red cape over his shoulder.

"Are they in the Army?" Kirito asked as they got closer. The Army, officially known as the Aincrad Liberation Force (ALF), was currently the largest guild in SAO; not even the Tri-Blade Alliance's numbers could keep up. However, unlike the TBA and KOB, who were mainly floor-clearing guilds/armies, the ALF were seeking to maintain peace and organization among the citizens in SAO, mostly in Floor 1. "That's the big guild that runs Floor 1. What are they doing up here?"

Once the Army reached Kirito, Asuna, and Fuurinkazan, the leader turned around and ordered, "At ease!" As soon as he said that, all of the soldiers collapsed and sat down, panting and gasping for breath. Ignoring them, the leader turned to face the others. "I'm with the Aincrad Liberation Force. **(S/N: I don't care what the anime said, I'm keeping their name as the Liberation Force. Sounds cooler than Army, anyway)** Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz." He held out his hand to the black-clad swordsman. "Hand over your map data for the area ahead and we'll be on our way."

Klein stepped forward. "You want us to just...GIVE it to you?!" The guild leader asked angrily.

Corvatz stepped forward as well. "We share our information and resources with civilian players all the time!" Corvatz justified. "We maintain order in the chaos of battle so that all players can leave this world as quickly as possible! Therefore, it is your DUTY to cooperate with us! So hand over that map!" He finished in his own angry tone.

"Listen, you!" Asuna stepped forward, ready to give the commander a piece of her mind.

"Easy," Kirito calmed his friends down. "I was gonna go public with the map once we got back to town anyway." Kirito calmly gave a now calm Corvatz the map data. "Oh, but if you're planning to hit the boss, I wouldn't recommend it."

"That is MY decision to make," Corvatz stressed.

"Hey, I just took a look inside the room, pal, and you can't beat that boss if your troops are half-dead!" Kirito gestured to the exhausted squadron. "Look at 'em! They're exhausted!"

"Nonsense! My men are tougher than that! They won't quit until I give the order!" Corvatz turned around and walked to the back of his squadron. Once he reached the back of it, he turned to his squadron. "On your feet! Come on, move!"

Begrudgingly, the squadron rose up (with some having to use their weapons as support), and they marched off, following Corvatz to the boss room. Once they were out of earshot, Kirito said, "Maybe we should keep an eye on them...just in case." Kirito began walking ahead.

Before his guild folllowed, Klein said, "So, uh, anyway, Asuna...I've got a favor to ask."

"Hm?" The girl in question looked at Klein.

"He's a bit of a loner, hard to talk to, addicted to combat...But he's a good guy. Take care of him, will ya?" the guild leader requested as he bowed to Asuna out of respect.

Breaking her gaze from Kirito, who was at the front of the group, Asuna looked at Klein and said, "Okay." When Klein looked back up at her, she smiled. "I promise he's in good hands!"

 **(x)**

"HYAH!" Klein shouted as he cut down a Lizardman Lord, causing it to shatter. "That's the last one. Only thing left is the boss's room. Maybe those guys used some kinda teleportation thingy to go back." That theory was disproved when a scream rang out.

"Asuna!" Kirito said to the vice commander, who nodded and followed the beater to the boss room. Klein stayed behind to fight off the Lizardman Lords that had respawned.

Screams kept ringing out as the two party members booked it to the boss room. "Idiots," Asuna said under her breath.

They ran through the open door, after which Kirito asked, "Hey! You guys okay?!" The two gasped in shock as they grasped the scenario before them.

The boss and the army troops were encircled in a ring of fire, and the only exit points were behind the boss, who was blocking the men from escaping. Watching the exhausted soldiers getting knocked around, Kirito said, "Don't just stand there! Use your teleport crystals!"

"We can't!" one of the army members shouted back. "Th-the crystals aren't working!"

"I-I've never heard of a trap like this being in a boss room before," Asuna said worriedly as Kirito underwent flashbacks of the Moonlit Black Cats.

"The Aincrad Liberation Force doesn't know the word retreat!" Corvatz shouted as he pointed his sword at the boss. "COME ON! KEEP FIGHTING!"

"They're insane,"Kirito said under his breath.

"Hey, the hell's going on?" Klein demanded once he reached the watching duo.

"They can't use their teleportation crystals," Kirito explained to Klein. "We _could_ distract the boss, but going in there's too risky."

"Isn't there _something_ we can do?" Kirito didn't respond as the flashbacks continued.

"Ready? CHAAAARRGE!" Corvatz roared as his men followed his orders.

"DON'T DO IT!" Kirito's warning was in vain, as the boss had roared and let out a breath of fire that showered the helpless soldiers. The Gleam Eyes then charged a sword skill and thrust it down onto the men, knocking them all down, and slashed Corvatz, who was sent flying and fell in front of Kirito and the others.

Kirito ran towards Corvatz and knelt before the fallen captain. "Hang on, Corvatz!" However, Corvatz's helmet shattered, leaving Kirito to see the scared look and helpless tears that pooled in the commander's eyes, before he ultimately shattered.

Corvatz had died.

Asuna had her hand over mouth in a gesture of horror as she watched the scene unfold before her. "No," she whispered, then gasped in shock as she saw the boss getting ready to cut down another soldier. As the boss raised its sword, Asuna trembled as she continued to whisper, "No...I can't...NOOOOO!" She screamed the last word as she drew her rapier and charged at the boss.

"ASUNA!" Kirito called after his fellow party member as he rushed after her.

"...Oh, what the hell!" Klein said as he dashed in after Kirito. Asuna had repeatedly stabbed the boss from behind, drawing its attention to her instead of the soldier. The boss parried Asuna's next strike and punched her away, sending her rolling across the ground. The boss raised its sword, ready to deliver the killing blow…

When the room suddenly darkened, and the sound of steel meeting steel rang in everyone's ears. When the room lit up again, everyone saw, to their relief, that Arctic had parried the boss's strike. He capitalized on this by performing the skill Tsumujiguruma: He crouched while charging his sword and jumped up high, twisting his body mid-air before launching himself to the ground and unleashing a heavy horizontal slash that hit in a 360-degree arc, a move that proved very effective in stunning and damaging the boss.

When he turned to Asuna, and eventually Kirito, he stated in an evenly measured tone, "You should be counting your stars Klein messaged us."

"Wait, us?" Kirito managed to get out through his surprise. Arctic's only response was a finger pointed at the door to the dungeon, where the others saw the elite members of the Tri-Blade Alliance.

Solar ran in, shouting orders to his guild. "Pearce, Cupid: distract the boss! Akira, Skye, Eros: help Arctic get the soldiers out!"

"Got it!" everyone responded as they followed their orders.

After making sure the soldiers got out safe, Solar turned to Kirito, who had helped Asuna up. "What were you thinking, trying this boss on your own?"

"Don't blame him," Klein explained. "Corvatz forced his men to try and take on the boss."

"That idiot," Solar muttered under his breath. "Where is he now?" Kirito, Asuna, and Klein all looked down.

"He's dead," Kirito stated.

"Oh." Solar looked away. "A shame. He was a good man."

"The boss is recovering!" Cupid exclaimed as she landed near Solar, drawing everyone's attention back to the boss.

"Guys, I'm gonna need ten seconds! Keep him off me!" the beater stated as he opened his skills list.

"Got it!" Solar relayed the request to Arctic, who had appeared at that moment. The Blue Shadow nodded and rushed the boss with his friends. The group were doing all they could to help Asuna and Klein aggro the boss towards them and not Kirito.

Asuna had parried a strike when Kirito shouted, "OKAY! I'M READY!" He ran at the boss. "SWITCH!" Asuna switched out with Kirito as the boss brought his sword down.

Everyone watched as Kirito parried the blow with his Elucidator…

And continued to watch in utter shock as he pulled out the sword that formed behind his left shoulder and struck the boss with his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.

Kirito used his dual blades to block and catch the Gleam Eyes' sword and pushed it back with all his might, stunning the boss.

 _Okay...Here goes..._ Kirito opened his eyes as he shouted, "Starburst Stream!" He slashed the boss across the waist with one sword, slashed it again with the other, jumped up and slashed it two more times, and brought his blades across to the right for another two hits. He brought his blades down, then back up, adding another four hits to the combo.

The boss roared in pain, and all everyone could do was watch as Kirito displayed his new sword skill. "What the hell kinda skill's that?" Klein asked aloud, to no one in particular. The boss had slashed Kirito, but the beater had paid no attention to it. _Faster..._ Kirito stabbed the boss and brought his blades down. The boss had hit Kirito again and knocked the blades out of his hand, but Kirito simply caught them and reversed his grip on them. The two figures were locked in a power struggle by this point, one that Kirito won as he slashed the boss again.

Tanking the punch the Gleam Eyes hit him with, Kirito told himself, _Gotta go faster!_ And faster he went, as Kirito began repeatedly hitting the boss, reaching a speed where his consecutive hits became an azure cyclone. The boss had caught Kirito's Elucidator in an attempt to avoid the killing blow, but it could not stop his fully charged Dark Repulsor from striking it in its inner thigh.

The boss shattered, and Kirito asked quietly, "Is it...over…?" before standing up straight and looking at his rewards, the "CONGRATULATIONS!" sign shining in front of him.

Kirito sneaked a look at his HP, which was at one. He promptly collapsed on his back and his vision faded to darkness.

 **(x)**

"KIRITO! WAKE UP, KIRITO!" Kirito tiredly opened his eyes to see Asuna kneeling above him, tears welling in her hazel orbs.

Kirito groaned as he sat up. "Oh man, my head," he held his head in pain and looked around to see everyone crowded around him. "That was too close. How long was I out for?" he asked Asuna as she wiped her eyes.

"Just a few seconds," the vice commander replied. "You reckless idiot!" she cried out, wrapping Kirito in a tight hug, crying into the shoulder of his jacket.

Getting out of his shock, Kirito smiled as he realized how much Asuna cared about im. "Jeez, don't hug me so hard. I'll lose the last of my HP," he joked.

Klein walked forward, obviously having heavy news to deliver. "Corvatz and two of his men are the only ones who didn't make it."

Kirito looked down sadly. "We haven't lost a player in a boss fight since Floor 67."

"Yeah, bye," Arctic stated as he walked up the stairs to the next floor, despite the others' attempts to stop him, and disappeared.

"That wasn't a boss fight―that was suicide," Klein responded.

"I HEARD THAT!" The players that were still upright jumped at Arctic's shout.

"Corvatz was a damn fool…" Klein looked down, saddened by the loss of another player.

"I hear you," Skye said as she patted Klein's arm comfortingly. "There's no point to this if you just die." Klein smiled at the female, who smiled back and walked up the stairs to find her boyfriend.

Klein shook off the grief and just smiled. " _You're_ not off the hook, either. What the hell'd you do just now?" he directed the question to Kirito.

"I don't think you wanna know," the beater responded.

"Oh, come on! I've never seen anything like that before!"

"Klein," Solar intervened. "I've been in his situation; if he doesn't want to share, then he doesn't want to share."

"It's okay, Solar," Kirito said. He looked away. "It's an extra skill I picked up: 'Dual Wielding'."

Klein and his guild gasped. "Are there any prerequisites?!" Klein asked as he stepped forward.

Kirito smiled. "If I knew that, I'd have shared it by now."

Pearce quickly opened his menu and scrolled down the skill list. "Strange. It isn't in the info broker's skill list," the archer said aloud. "That means it's exclusive to you, right?"

"That means that you and I have Unique Skills, Kirito," Solar remarked.

"About six months ago, I was scrolling through my skill menu. And it was just...there," Kirito explained. "'Dual Wielding.' But if anyone else found out I had a skill like this…"

"They'd get pissed 'cause you had something they didn't," Klein realized.

"When I revealed the Quick Draw, everyone was just...amazed, and just kept asking me for a demonstration. One of the reasons why I _didn't_ reveal it before I did," Solar gave his input.

"Thank you, maxed-out Straining skill," Arctic said aloud as he and Skye walked back in. "You still owe us an explanation―when and how the hell did you get the Quick Draw?"

"U-ummm…." For some reason, Solar looked extremely uncomfortable about answering the question. "So what's the next floor look like?" the leader asked the couple as an obvious attempt to dodge the question.

"If you don't want to tell us, then we won't ask," Skye said reassuringly.

"And to answer _your_ question, the next floor is admittedly peaceful, and the first town you walk into has at least 5 different pubs. And yes, I've visited all of them," Arctic stated his answer.

"Wait. How―?" Klein was about to ask before Akira cut him off.

"Did you win any drinking games, at least?" Arctic merely smiled.

"I remember winning at least 3."

"Back on track," Pearce said. "Kirito, some gamers would be pissed that you had a unique skill and they didn't. But not your friends."

"Anyway," Klein said with a hand on his chin in thought and a knowing smile as he faced Kirito, "I can see your character's built by life's challenges, so keep soldiering on, young man."

"Easier said than done," Arctic scoffed. "And don't worry―I already triggered the warp gate. You heading to the next floor?" he asked Kirito as everyone began to walk up the stairs.

"Nah," the beater said. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Need to rest for a bit."

"Alright. Stay safe," the mercenary said as he walked off. He looked at Klein when the Fuurinkazan's leader stopped, but continued to walk to the gate.

"Hey," Klein said to Kirito without turning back. "Y'know how you rushed in there, to save those army guys?"

"Y-yeah…" Kirito said.

"Well…" Klein wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Y'know...Glad you did. Anyway, see ya," Klein concluded with a wave as he walked to the gate.

Kirito turned to Asuna, the latter having not released her hold on the former at all during the conversation. "What's wrong, Asuna?"

"I was so scared," Asuna answered, holding Kirito even tighter. "If you died, I didn't know _what_ I'd do."

"What're you talking about?" Kirito asked with a smile. "You're the one who jumped in first, remember?" He closed his eyes and stayed in that position with Asuna for a while.

"I'm taking a leave of absence from the guild." This statement caused Kirito to open his eyes and stare at the vice commander.

"Why?" was his only response. "To do what? Sleep in all day?"

"Did you forget already? I said I was teaming up with you." Upon hearing that, Kirito felt his eyes water as he remembered all of the moments he had with Asuna.

When he stopped Kuradeel from taking her back to the guild…

When he first partied with her…

When he walked with her to her home to cook the Rabbit…

The field boss raid at Floor 56…

All the way back to the Floor 1 boss fight.

"OK," was all the beater said, choosing to stay with Asuna holding him tight.

 **(x)**

 **Next time…**

" _I told you my brother died…I never elaborated on that."_

" _Did he just...steal your Darkness Blade?"_

" _If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have won._ _"_

" _He's not human…!"_

" _What...did you just call me…?"_

" _Hey...You remember, don't you?"_

" _I get why...But ask yourself: Was it worth keeping us all trapped in here?_ _"_


	27. Chapter 27: Pain of a Loss

**The Tri-Blade** **Alliance**

 **Chapter** **27: Pain of a Loss**

 **A** **/N: Just three more chapters, and we're done.**

 **S** **/N: We're so sorry for being late as hell. We're seniors in high school now, so we have all the fun times and stress of retaking the SAT's and with college applications. BUT, by no means, does this excuse our hiatus.**

 **Disclaimer** **: We don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**

 _Inner thoughts_

 _"Dialogue in flashbacks/Special phrases"_

 **(x)**

The white-clad beater grunted in pain as his "companion" stabbed the sword into his paralyzed body, making sure to move the blade around in the stab wound.

 _How did this happen?_ he asked himself. _Oh, right..._

After the Gleam Eyes, word of his duel-wielding had spread around, and now EVERYONE, from the info broker to the fellow front-liner, were lining up at his doorstep, eager for as much info on the skill as he can give. Thankfully, his friends were the only ones who didn't bother him about it, because he had already told them before; the only exceptions were Klein and Asuna. Heathcliff had challenged Kirito to a duel over Asuna, and the wager was that if the KOB Commander won, then the beater would be forced to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. And lo and behold, he lost. Now he was on a little "team-building exercise" with Godfree and...Kuradeel. They took a break, and Kuradeel, who had packed their lunches, had poisoned the water, paralyzing his two fellow guild members. Kuradeel had killed Godfree right in front of Kirito, and soon the beater was going to join his fallen comrade, and the murderous guild member revealed that he was a member of the now-dismantled guild, Laughing Coffin.

Due to the paralysis, Kirito could do nothing but wince as the blade drove into his body. "How's it feel?" Kuradeel rambled as he stabbed Kirito's leg, moving the blade around like before. "C'mon, I wanna know how it feels, knowing you're about to die like a dog. What, is your tongue paralyzed too?" he remarked when Kirito had given no answer to his sadistic inquiries.

As Kirito watched his HP dip below the halfway point, he asked himself, _Is this it? Is this where I'm gonna die?_

"Come on, now!" His assassin's voice pulled the beater back to reality. "It's your last chance to say something. You really ARE going to die!" Kuradeel removed his sword from the stab wound, and plunged it deep into Kirito's lower waist, the red polygons that acted as the fluid of life drifting up into the air and vanishing from the downed beater. Because his health had dropped dangerously low into the red, Kirito's vision was starting to adopt that same color. Having no choice but to accept his fate, Kirito closed his eyes and waited for the sweet release of death...

Only to have Asuna's face smiling on him, the same look that graced her visage when she told him, " _I'm not gonna die, got that? I can't die because I have to protect you."_ Those were the words that had left her lips before she gently pulled him into a hug that he found himself unable to return.

He immediately opened his eyes and, despite the still-active paralysis, shakily placed his hand on the blade and proceeded to remove it from his body.

Kuradeel said nothing, merely adopting a look of surprise and amusement when he said, "Heh. Why do you keep struggling? Are you afraid of dying after all?"

"No..." Kirito weakly shot back. "I'm just not ready yet!" Kuradeel merely put a hand to his face as he laughed.

"Is that so?" he asked rhetorically before shooting his gaze back at the struggling beater. "THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT!" he shouted as he slowly forced the blade back into the wound. Kirito struggled vainly, watching his HP drop slowly, until the pain was so much that he couldn't bear it. He eventually closed his eyes again as Kuradeel maniacally shouted, "DIE! DIE! DIIIIEEEE!" Kirito, seeing no point in fighting back, just let his grip on the blade slacken.

Suddenly, he heard Kuradeel grunt, first in surprise, then in pain. Through his red-tinted vision, Kirito saw Asuna standing over him, before she turned to him, healing crystal in hand. "Heal!" she said desperately, and Kirito watched his HP fill up all the way, even overlapping a bit at the same amount he had before the vice commander's intervention. However, the paralysis hadn't worn off. But hey, who was he to complain? "I made it... I made it in time, thank God," Kirito heard Asuna whisper. "I made it..." she said one final time before smiling down at him.

"I was tracking your position on the map the whole time," she had explained once the two met each other's gaze. "And then I saw Godfree disappear. I got worried something happened...But you're alive. I'm not dreaming, am I?" Asuna had said that last part to herself, almost as if she still didn't believe the answer, even though she already knew it.

"No," Kirito had confirmed. "You're not." After hearing him get up, Asuna's eyes narrowed dangerously as she switched her gaze over to Kuradeel.

"Hang on," Asuna said lowly, getting up and walking towards the LC member. "I'll finish this." She drew her rapier as she got closer to him.

"A-Asuna, I can explain everything!" Kuradeel said out of fear as his former commander stalked towards him. "We were just training when all of a sudden there was this―" The rapier grazing his cheek had stopped him from spewing out more of his painfully unconvincing lies. He stumbled backwards, reeling in pain as Asuna continued forward. "DAMN YOU!" he shouted, done with the lies as he took a swing at her, a swing that she swiftly ducked under and retaliated by striking her assailant multiple times, her blade moving so fast he couldn't see it. Kuradeel could only scream in pain and fear as multiple green-colored skill trails cut through his body, bringing his HP down slowly. Kuradeel's next response was to hold his hands up in surrender as Asuna pointed the blade dangerously close to his face. "I give up. I surrender!" he proclaimed as he fell to his knees. "Please don't kill me," he begged as he groveled before Asuna. "I'll leave the guild. You'll never see me again, I promise! Please!" he "promised" as he cowered. Asuna's only response was to pull her rapier up and prepare to drive it through his skull.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" The shout of those hypocritical words leaving Kuradeel's lips had stopped Asuna's blade, as she hesitated to finish the job. Unbeknownst to her, however, Kuradeel smirked maliciously and picked up his sword, using it to disarm Asuna and leave her defenseless. Kuradeel laughed sadistically and brought his sword up over his head as he stated, "The oldest trick in the book, AND YOU FELL FOR IT, BITCH!" Kuradeel brought the blade down as he shouted the last part.

The paralysis had at last worn off, and Kirito rushed in to save his party member and friend, blocking the sword with his left hand as he pushed Asuna back with his right. Kuradeel gave a sound of shock, and the beater's hand had separated from his body and shattered, leaving his health bar to display the damage and the symbol of an amputated limb. The pain wasn't even registered in Kirito's mind. All he felt was rage. The beater roared as he charged a sword skill with his right hand, driving it into Kuradeel's abdomen, depleting the last of the murder guild member's HP.

In shock, Kuradeel had collapsed, his killer's hand embedded deep in his body being the only thing keeping him from falling on his face.

"God damn you...you murdered me," were Kuradeel's last words before he shattered and died. Kirito stood up straight, and immediately fell to his knees. Wordlessly, Asuna walked over to him and kneeled, her hand stopping but centimeters away from his.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "This was...all my fault, wasn't it?" she weakly stated as she looked down. Tears started falling on her clenched fist, which she kept pointed at the ground.

"Asuna..." Kirito finally said as he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry," she said again, looking up to face Kirito. Tears were streaming down her face as she sadly said, "But I-I should stay away from you..." She started crying, only barely managing to bring out, "for your sake."

Before she could say anything further, Kirito grabbed her arm with his remaining hand and looked into Asuna's watery hazel orbs. He said nothing, opting to kiss Asuna instead. She was shocked, and had not been expecting the sudden gesture of romance, but she kissed him back, quickly getting over the shock.

When Kirito broke the kiss, his eyes remained closed as he rested his forehead on her chest. "Asuna, my life belongs to you," he said at last. "I'll give it up for you. I wanna stay with you until the end."

"And I promise," Asuna said in response, looking down to the beater, "I'll do anything to protect you, forever. No matter what. I swear," she finished as she closed her eyes.

"I'll do everything I can to make sure you get back to the real world. Asuna..." Kirito said as he raised his head up to look at her. "Could I...stay with you for the night?" he asked with a kind smile. Asuna blushed and smiled, nodding her answer.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 1: Iridescent Lake**

"So what're we doing today?" Pearce questioned as the elite members of the Tri-Blade Alliance followed their leader and resident mercenary. "I mean, we'll win this either way, but I mean, a field boss? What kind of field boss is it?"

"LISTEN!" Arctic turned around and faced the archer, who began screaming comedically. "If you would shut up for 5 SECONDS, then I'll explain who we're fighting! Okay?!"

"Okay," Pearce calmly said after suddenly stopping his screaming.

"Good. We're fighting a boss called, 'The Black Knight'. I don't even know much about this boss, since it came out today."

"So we decided that the early bird'll take the worm," Solar added on.

"Exactly," Arctic confirmed. "The boss is set to locate in the area we're heading to."

"And where _are_ we heading?" Cupid inquired.

"To a lake. And this boss is said to be VERY dangerous, but I don't know how."

"We'll just have to end it quickly, then," Skye concluded.

"Until we learn how the boss fights," Solar added on, "our best offense will have to be our best defense. How much farther, Eros?"

The performer, having the map out the whole time, closed it and looked up. "We're here."

The Tri-Bladers were standing on the edge of a lake, and Akira knelt down and swiped her hand across the water. "This place is so beautiful," the axe-wielder said in awe. "Why would this place be used for a boss fight?"

"It's gotta have some meaning behind the boss' background," Cupid inferred.

"Tell me you guys see something black circling us," Skye said as she looked up. As the other Tri-Bladers looked up and around, they saw the black material that Skye mentioned circling around them. Eventually, the black material circled around Akira.

"Akira, GET BACK!" Solar shouted as he grabbed his wife and pulled her back before the material could close around her. Despite its lack of a vessel, the material formed into a kneeling figure in medieval armor. The knight slowly stood up and faced the Tri-Bladers, his outline barely visible through the black material. The visor of the knight's helmet glowed red before it roared at the Tri-Bladers, its health bars forming and name reading, "The Black Knight of the Lake".

"Arctic, that's Berserker!" Pearce shouted excitedly.

"I know! I'm so hyped right now!" Arctic responded with as much, if not more enthusiasm than the archer.

"Wait, you mean _Lancelot_?" Solar asked incredulously.

"I call first shot!" Arctic drew his Darkness Blade and charged at the boss. Once he got close enough, he swung his sword, only to watch in shock as the Knight caught the sword and kicked Arctic away, making the mercenary lose his grip on his beloved weapon.

Akira helped Arctic up and asked him incredulously, "Did he just...steal your Darkness Blade?"

"Yeah, he does that," Arctic said as he steadied himself. "Doesn't mean he can use it, though," Arctic smirked as he outstretched his hand. Lancelot merely looked down at his now empty hand when the Darkness Blade evaporated from his hand and reappeared in Arctic's.

"So, my turn?" Solar asked as he brought his hand up to his sword's hilt.

"Be my guest."

"Thanks." Solar drew his sword and activated Quick Draw, appearing in front of Lancelot in a flash before slashing with ungodly speed. To his shock, Lancelot caught the sword and disarmed the leader before kicking Solar away. Lancelot grabbed the sword and positioned it over his back, taking Solar's stance.

"..." Solar was at a loss for words while Pearce helped him up.

"Don't worry, boss," Pearce reassured. "We'll get your sword back. Arctic, ready?"

"You provide cover, we'll attack him head-on," Arctic reaffirmed.

"Got it." Pearce readied an arrow on his bow, and Arctic held his hands out to his side.

"Let's go!"

 **(x)**

 _ **Prior to The Gleam Eyes...**_

 _"What'd you need me for, Pearce?" Arctic questioned as the two hung out at the base of Arctic's tree._

 _"Sorry I didn't give these to you earlier," Pearce started as he opened his menu, "but I got these as a last attack bonus from killing Gilgamesh. I was going through my inventory to list off things to sell before I found these. I can't use them since I don't use knives."_

 _"Use what?"_

 _Pearce said nothing as he sent a trade request to Arctic, who read the screen in shock and awe when he saw what was being offered. "You interested?"_

 _"Hell yeah!" Arctic grinned widely before realizing. "Wait, there's something I have to give to you, too." Arctic opened up his inventory and scrolled down to an item that he would offer for the new knives Pearce was offering. "Got it as an MVP award against Gilgamesh."_

 _"You_ deserved _that. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have won."_

 _"Think I don't know that? But it_ was _you who remembered how the bastard officially died." Arctic found what he was looking for and selected it. "This was meant for you, I believe."  
_

 _"Yes it was," Pearce said as he read over what Arctic was offering. "Does this have an effect, too?"_

 _"Yeah, and judging by what you said, the knives have an effect too?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _"Something tells me that these'll come in handy."_

 **(x)**

" _I am the bone of my sword,_ " Pearce chanted as the bow in his hands changed along with the arrow.

" _Trace...ON!"_ Arctic shouted as his new knives appeared in his hands.

" _Caladbolg!"_ The archer shouted as he fired a javelin/sword-like arrow from his new S-Class Caladbolg II (Bow and Arrow).

Lancelot brought his stolen sword up to deflect the arrow, but to no avail as the arrow flew faster than the boss could react. Arctic took the opportunity to rush the boss again, equipped with his S-Class Kanshou and Bakuya (Twin Knives), slamming them down on Lancelot before he could recover fully from the arrow. Lancelot barely blocked the attack, and began engaging the elite members of the Tri-Blade Alliance in a 6v1 fight (with Pearce providing support).

Solar watched with clenched fists as he saw Lancelot bat away any attacks with _his_ sword. _I will not stand for this_ , the leader thought with grit teeth as he opened his menu and scrolled down his shared inventory.

Akira backflipped away from Berserker before getting a notification that Solar was going through their inventory. She peeked over to her husband, who was continuously scrolling down. _I hope you know what you're doing_ , Akira inwardly worried.

"Get back! I got this!" Skye shouted as she rushed at the boss from the front. She held her blade close to her waist and charged it with a lightning-type sword skill, the blue electricity crackling along the length of her sword as she thrust it forward, stabbing the boss through the chest.

Lancelot roared in pain and punched Skye square in the face as an attempt to knock her back. And yet, despite the pain, the female player grit her teeth in determination and swiftly removed the blade, proceeding to slash the boss repeatedly all around his body, electricity crackling wherever she hit. She brought her sword down to finish the combo, and Lancelot prepared to block it...

Only to be slashed from behind as he was struck from behind. The Skye in front of the boss vanished, and the real deal kept attacking the boss, proving that lightning _can_ strike twice. When Lancelot turned to parry her strikes again, she attacked from another side and vanished from her original position and restarted the combo. After the third time, she jumped and called, "SWITCH!"

Arctic rushed forward and charged Bakuya with a fire-type sword skill, bringing it down on Lancelot, who seamlessly blocked it. The boss's assailant swiped an electrically charged Kanshou sideways, spinning and hitting twice. Arctic continued attacking in this manner, using Kanshou and Bakuya with electric and fire-type sword skills, respectively, in the same manner to chip away at his defense. After continuing the combo for some time, Arctic decided to break Lancelot's guard by slashing Kanshou to the left, then the right as electricity sparked along the boss's stolen blade. Frustrated, Arctic yelled as he slammed Bakuya down on the blade, creating a dust cloud that obscured everyone's vision. After a minute, the Blue Shadow jumped back, calling, "SWITCH!"

Skye was about to dash forward again before a red blur crossed her path and forced her to stay put. Lancelot was slashed twice before being kicked away, and Solar stood where Lancelot was. In his hands was a sword that he took out of his inventory. "Is that...Excalibur?" Arctic asked in awe.

"Close," the leader responded. "It's Caliburn, from King Arthur's legend."

"How'd you even―?" Cupid began to ask.

"I'll explain later!" With that, Solar dashed at Lancelot again and sliced the mad knight across the armor. Berserker was stunned momentarily, and Solar took advantage of that by raising his sword up high and slashing it down with full power. As a result, Berserker's black fog dissipated and his helmet broke. The mad knight, with his long and unruly hair, crazed eyes, and sharp teeth bared in insanity, looked up and saw Caliburn in Solar's hand. His eyes widened further and, yelled, "ARTHURRR!" in a fit of rage as his own sword, Arondight, formed in his hands.

"My name isn't Arthur," Solar growled as he readied himself for combat. The two swordsmen clashed, blades creating sparks upon contact. Solar quickly pulled his blade back and slashed upwards, directly under Lancelot's guard, and successfully slashing the boss. However, the former knight quickly recovered and punched Solar's chest, sending the player sliding on his back, who rolled to the side to avoid Lancelot's downward thrust. "NOW, PEARCE!" Solar shouted.

" _I am the bone of my sword,_ " the archer chanted again as he readied his bow. " _Caladbolg!_ " he shouted as he released the arrow, burying itself into the Knight of the Lake's chest. Lancelot roared in agony as his last HP bar dipped into the red.

"IT'S OVER!" Solar screamed as he raised Caliburn above his head, pointing the blade to the sky while charging a Holy type sword skill, swinging it down and slicing Lancelot through the middle. Once the blade had exited his body, the boss split in half, both pieces of him shattering. Once the window signifying that the quest had been beaten appeared, Solar stabbed Caliburn into the ground to keep himself up. _Guess that took more outta me than I thought,_ the leader thought.

"You okay?" Arctic asked as he jogged up to Solar, who nodded in response. "That was badass! When'd you get that sword?"

Solar froze momentarily. "Caliburn, you mean?" Arctic nodded. "I guess now's a good a time as any to tell you guys."

"Tell us what?" Skye asked as she and the others walked up to the duo.

"How I got Caliburn. The Quick Draw. Everything."

"S-Seriously?!" Arctic took a step back in shock.

Solar nodded, then motioned for his friends to follow him as he walked along the lake. The group walked for a few minutes before reaching a spot where a small rock was protruding from the ground. Solar knelt down and sighed as he touched the rock. "This is where he got it."

"Who?" Akira asked.

Solar was silent for a moment; that moment unnervingly turned into a while. "You okay, baby?" Akira asked as she slowly approached Solar and placed a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't turn around, she leaned forward and was shocked to see him silently crying. "Oh my god, what's wrong?!"

"It's fine," Solar choked out. "Just...give me a moment." Akira pulled Solar into a hug, and let him cry on her shoulder. Meanwhile, the others were comforting their leader in their own way. After a while, Solar nodded to show that he was okay. Once everyone drew back, he wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath. "I told you my brother died...I never elaborated on that." Solar drew Caliburn and held it over the rock before stabbing it in. He took a step back. "On November 6, 2022, 10,000 players logged onto SAO. I was one of those 10,000―as was my brother, Sora." He turned around and saw everyone listening intently, neutral looks on their faces. "Once we learned that we were trapped, he dragged me to the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings. He told me that he would make good on his promise to himself and our mother―that he would protect me at all costs." He chuckled sadly. "He wouldn't have it any other way, and made me find the next town for us. The next couple of weeks were filled with the two of us grinding, hunting, and staying at an inn. At the end of that second week, we finished grinding for the day. Sora was so determined to make sure that I'd live that he had no idea that he inadvertently created a new skill when killing a mob that nearly got me from behind: the Quick Draw. Apparently, he used similar techniques in other MMO's, so activating it was nothing short of a cakewalk for him." Solar shook his head to clear his thoughts. "We finished grinding at this lake, and he wanted to walk along it. I was younger and less durable than him, so I told him to go on ahead while I rested for a couple minutes." Solar chuckled again―darkly this time. "If I'd gone along with him, then maybe Kutthroat and his partner wouldn't have killed him."

 **(x)**

 ** _2 years ago..._**

 _Solar layed down on the grass by the lake, catching his breath after a long day of non-stop grinding. Thankfully, he could still see Sora walking along the lake, which brought a smile to the younger brother's face. "He'll be fine," Solar whispered to himself, letting his head slump back down and hit the grass softly. "He's got a Unique Skill."_

 _"Hey Solar!" The aforementioned player sat up quickly at the call. "Check this out! I found a kick-ass sword!"_

 _Solar groaned and slumped back down. "Don't scare me like that! And get your ass back here!"_

 _"Calm down, I'm coming!" Solar patiently waited, hearing the familiar sound of his brother's footfalls draw closer to him slowly. Once Sora had reached Solar, the younger of the two rose from the ground, before hearing the older player shout in an alarmed tone, "Who the hell are you?!"_

 _Solar quickly turned around and saw who his brother was talking about. Two players_ ― _both male, one wearing a black cloak over dark green armor, the other wearing dark grey armor, with both appearing to be of malicious intent_ ― _standing behind him. "Get behind me," Sora said lowly to Solar, pulling the latter back and preparing to draw his sword._ _"Just tell us what you want," Sora said in a rational manner. "We don't want any harm."_

 _"Oh, don't worry," the player in the black cloak said in an Australian accent. "We don't want much. Just all your items. And_ maybe _we want to kill you both."_

 _"Like hell that's gonna happen!" Solar shouted. Sora turned to his little brother, smiling sadly._

 _"Go." Solar looked at his older brother in surprise._

 _"Why?"_

 _"There's no guarantee I'm gonna survive this. And I promised to keep you safe. Now go."_

 _"I'm not gonna leave you. We can take them on together." Sora's only response to this declaration was to push his brother into the water, forcing the latter to let out a noise of shock before tasting the water entering his open mouth. Solar gasped and sputtered as he struggled to stay afloat, not registering the fight that had occurred the moment he had hit the water._

 _The only thing Solar had seen as he finally managed to keep his head up and swim to the shore was the grey-clad player running his sword through Sora's armor, right where his heart would have been located, dealing a fatal blow to his older brother._

 _"NO!" Solar yelled as he ran to his brother's side, catching the older player as he fell. "Damn you, don't you dare die on me!" Solar spoke through grit teeth with tears streaming down his face as he frantically looked for a health potion._

 _"D-don't..." Sora choked out as pixelated blood trickled down his mouth. "I-It's too late for me..."_ _  
_

 _"SHUT UP!" Solar yelled as he kept looking for the potion fruitlessly. He didn't notice Sora's hand move and open the Skill Transfer menu, and transferred the Quick Draw to his little brother. Solar noticed the menu and, through that, watched in horror and despair as his brother shattered in his arms. A sword dropped after the menu closed, and a notification popped up in his HUD saying that he had received the Quick Draw._

 _The grey-clad player sighed. "Look at 'em, Kutthroat," the player said in an English accent. "I can't stand to see kids sad."_

 _"Well, you best fix it then, Ripper," Kutthroat replied, turning and walking away from the other two men. "Reunite 'em with his brother."_

 _Ripper nodded, then walked up next to the shocked player. "Don't worry, I'm only after the sword. Rumors say it's an S-Class weapon."_

 _"Is...a damn weapon...really worth killing someone over?!" Solar asked in anger and anguish as he stared angrily at his brother's killer, who merely chuckled._

 _"You got some fire left in ya? Don't worry," Ripper readied his sword. "I'll make this quick and painless."_

Quick? _Solar thought. In that moment, he thought of all that his brother worked for, to ensure_ Solar's _survival._ _"I'm not dying today, YOU_ BASTARD _!" He roared through his tears, quickly picking up the sword Sora had dropped and slashing through Ripper in the blink of an eye._

 _In that moment, his brother's killer shattered. Blinded with rage, Solar looked up and around for the acquaintance. When he found that he ran away, Solar looked down at the sword. With a shaky hand, he appraised the weapon, and read it's info to himself. "Caliburn...an S-Class weapon..." With the sudden realization that Caliburn was the sword his brother wanted to show him, Solar collapsed to his knees."YOU BASTARD! WHY DID YOU DIE?! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE!" was all he could shout to the sky before breaking down, crying and mourning Sora's death. "You promised..." was the last thing he had whispered before letting his grief take over._

 **(x)**

"For about a week after that, I was a shell. When I got back to the inn we were staying at, I didn't leave my room; I barely ate; I cried myself to sleep every night. At the end of that week, I got a gift in my inbox, and it auto-equipped itself on my wrists." To clarify, Solar held up his arms, where his black and red wristbands were visible. "Black was his favorite color; red was mine. He wore these all the time, to represent me _and_ him. After that, I found the strength to keep going, and I left my room the next day. I was heading over to the next town, and on the way, I helped someone out by getting rid of a problem, helping her grind and reunite with her friend, being challenged by that same problem on that same day, and meeting two of my friends from the beta." Solar looked at everyone and wasn't surprised to see them crying silently. "Meeting you guys filled that void, since you're all a part of my family. And you should know that I'd go to hell and back for family."

"...We had no idea," Cupid said, sadness clear in her voice.

"You could've told us, y'know," Arctic said, not much better off than Cupid. "Trust me, I know how unhealthy it is to keep stuff like this to yourself."

Solar chuckled sadly. "Yeah, I know. Can I be honest with you?" After collective sounds of affirmation reached his ears, Solar smiled brightly and said, "I feel a lot better now. Thanks for listening, guys. I appreciate it." The only response was a group hug initiated by Skye and Akira, and followed by everyone else, which he returned. "Though I gotta ask: what the hell, Skye? What was _that_ sword skill?"

"Well..." Skye blushed slightly once all eyes were on her. "It's a Unique Skill that I got because..."

"Because what?" Eros asked.

"Because I _may_ have had over a hundred wins in a row, with no losses whatsoever since the start of the game."

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted as the group hug broke apart.

"Yeah, one of the advantages of being a female fighter is that male fighters almost always underestimate you. I just used that to my advantage. Well, that and my maxed-out AGI."

"What's it called?" Cupid asked.

"Lightning Crash. Allows me to triple my speed so I can attack from three places at once."

"Huh. Neat," Solar responded before looking around. "Has anyone seen my sword?" Everyone looked around before noticing someone missing. "Has anyone seen Arctic?"

 **(x)**

 **At Lindas...**

"Liz, how fast can you get this fixed?" Arctic asked in a hurried and hushed tone as he teleported in front of, then walked into, Liz's smithy.

"Wait," Liz stopped Arctic before clearing her throat. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Smithy! How may I help you today?"

"I need something fixed, dammit!"

"Tone! And language!"

"FINE! I need something fixed for a friend, _please_." He said the last word through grit teeth bared in a forced smile.

"Much better!" Liz smiled humorously while motioning for her friend/customer to follow her to the counter. Once she got behind it, she placed her hands on the counter. "Show me the weapon." Arctic said nothing as he took out what appeared to be a sword wrapped in some cloth with a ribbon tied around it to keep it wrapped. Liz undid the ribbon and laid the sword out before inhaling sharply. "Is this...?"

"Infinity Blazer. Broken in half by my trusty 'married' blades." Arctic looked down at the sword, which was laying down on the cloth on Liz's counter in two pieces. "I need you to get this fixed before Solar finds out."

"What the hell happened anyway?!"

"There was a field boss that could steal weapons and―"

"Say no more. I'll go check and see if we have some red metal."

"It's best you take the sword with you." Liz complied and wrapped the sword back up before going to the back room.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Arctic turned around just in time to have Solar tackle him and start strangling him.

 **5 minutes later...**

"I'm done!" Liz said cheerfully as she stepped out of the back room with the repaired sword wrapped in the cloth―only to lose her cheerful attitude when she saw the other Tri-Bladers trying, and failing, to get Solar off of Arctic, who was starting to turn blue, despite the fact that they were in a safe zone. "Guys?" No response. "HEY!"All eyes turned to the blacksmith and the now-repaired sword in her hand. Solar slammed Arctic's head into the floor one last time, prompting an "Ow" from the mercenary before jumping off and snatching the sword from Liz.

"I am _never_ letting anyone whose name isn't Lisbeth touch you again!" Solar said in a relieved tone while cradling the sword.

"Isn't it weird how much he loves that sword?" Arctic whispered to Akira as he got up with her help.

"Yeah," Akira said out loud. "It's almost like he loves it more than he loves me."

 **(x)**

 **Outside Lisbeth's Smithy...**

As Solar apologized profusely to Akira, who was ignoring him but smiling at the same time, the other members were behind the group and chuckling at Solar's attempts. Arctic wrapped his arm around Skye, who leaned her head on his shoulder in response. The two smiled as they enjoyed their bliss―only for that bliss to be broken when Skye received a message. Adopting a sour face at their peace being disturbed, Skye answered the message―only to lose that look when she said, "It's Asuna." Everyone's attention immediately turned to the female player.

"What'd she say?" Eros asked as they stopped walking.

"She said, 'Come to Floor 22 NOW. We need your help with something.' We should go now," Skye stated as she looked up at everyone else.

"That reminds me," Arctic said as he put a hand to his chin in thought. "I don't think I ever got them a housewarming gift."

"We covered that," Akira said, a relieved smile on her friend's face as he realized he didn't have to go shopping for gifts.

"Meet you there!" the mercenary exclaimed as he and Skye swiftly teleported away, thanks to Arctic's Grey Star.

 **(x)**

 **Floor 22: Kirito and Asuna's Home...**

After they arrived (Arctic complained about how they took too long), Solar walked up and knocked on the door to Kirito and Asuna's house. As soon as Asuna opened the door, Arctic stretched and proceeded to walk in, despite the vice-commander's protests. "Morning, Asuna!" His voice rang through the house. When he walked into the main room of the house, he saw Kirito and said, "Morning Kirito. Morning, adorable little girl with Kirito's hair color." He froze, then quickly backtracked and knelt in front of the aforementioned girl. "Adorable little girl with Kirito's hair color?" Arctic whispered to himself as he observed her.

"Um..." Solar asked as he walked in (after politely asking Asuna). "Care to explain?"

"Her name is Yui. We found her passed out in the woods," Asuna explained.

"And you decided to bring her here?"

Meanwhile, Yui woke up when she felt a pair of foreign eyes on her. She stared back into the blue eyes as she asked, "Mommy, Daddy, who's the strange man that's staring at me?"

"Mommy? Daddy?" Akira asked incredulously.

"When she woke up, she told us her name, and we told her ours. She tried to pronounce them, but we told her to call us whatever she found easiest," Kirito clarified further as he walked up to his guests (sans Arctic).

"He's a close friend, Yui," Asuna called to the young girl.

Arctic smiled at her. When Skye caught a glimpse of it, she smiled too, a smile that grew when she saw Yui return the smile.

"Congratulations on getting married, you two!" Eros gushed once Asuna had said her two bits. The newly married couple blushed and gave their thanks to the performer.

"Oh!" Asuna said, facepalming. "Where are my manners? Does anyone want tea?" Asuna walked into the kitchen to make the tea once everyone had said "Yes," save for Kirito and Yui.

"Any more details you have to share about this?" Cupid asked, referring to the current situation with Yui. Meanwhile, Arctic chose to poke Yui's cheek, with the younger girl responding in kind.

"Well, that's about it," Kirito explained as he crossed his arms and observed Yui's (admittedly adorable) interaction with Arctic. The poke war slowly began escalating as the pokes exchanged between the two were becoming more frequent. "We're planning on going to the Town of Beginnings later to look for whoever may know her. We were wondering if you guys would help us out."

"Yeah, of course!" Akira gave her approval. "I just can't imagine what Yui's parents are going through, and I don't want that for anyone!"

"Count me in!" Cupid and Pearce added in.

"Us, too," Solar spoke up for the rest of his elites, all of whom nodded in confirmation, and started on the tea Asuna had given them when she came out of the kitchen and sat down next to Kirito.

"ARGH! SON OF A BITCH!"

Everyone turned to Arctic and Yui―and immediately decided to intervene because Yui had poked Arctic in the eye, and the injured player was damn near about to draw his sword on the little girl. Before he got the chance, however, six other hands fell on his once he touched the hilt. Yui giggled and taunted Arctic from behind Asuna as the latter stood in front of the former protectively. "LEMME AT HER!" Arctic repeated in a fit of rage with the others holding him back.

"She's just a kid!" Pearce shouted.

"THAT'S WHY I'LL MAKE IT QUICK!"

"Don't you DARE hurt my daughter!" Asuna crossed her arms and glared at Arctic. The former mercenary struggled for a few more minutes before inevitably giving up. Once they saw him give up, Skye and the others let him go. He knelt down so he was at Yui's level and glared at her.

"You got lucky this time, kid," he growled.

Yui got out from behind's Asuna's leg and poked Arctic on the nose while saying, "Boop."

Arctic took a deep breath, then exhaled in a slightly sad manner. "That's what my little sister does," he muttered.

"Does that make me _your_ little sister?" Yui innocently asked.

"Whatever you want," Arctic waved her off while smiling.

"Yeah, Yui," Solar added in as support. "As far as we're concerned, you're a part of our family now."

"Yay!" Yui cheered.

"Sorry for trying to hurt you, by the way," Arctic said as he started to walk to the door.

"It's okay, Big Brother." Everyone stopped what they were doing, and stared at the innocent little girl incredulously.

"What...did you just call me...?" Arctic asked in surprise. Yui looked confused when she saw the shock on her "big brother's" face.

"You said I was your little sister," Yui said, titling her head in confusion.

"Oh," everyone collectively said, laughing at their own confusion.

"So we're going to the Town of Beginnings, then?" Arctic asked curiously.

"Not yet," Asuna said, pointing to the coffee table, where the Tri-Bladers' tea sat. "Drink," the vice commander commanded.

"Yes, Mom," Arctic spoke the one thought on the minds of him and his guild mates.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!"

 **(x)**

After finishing their tea, the Tri-Bladers left the home of Kirito and Asuna so they could start heading for the Town of Beginnings and meet the newlyweds there. Along the way, Skye shouted, "WAIT!" prompting everyone else to draw their weapons and prepare for an incoming threat. When they found there was none, they put away their weapons and gave Skye various death glares (all of which unfazed her). "We're heading to a civilian town; what're they gonna think if they see us in our battle dress?" After a moment of thought and realization, the Tri-Bladers agreed to change, with the girls going into the woods and the boys staying out of the woods. After changing into their civilian clothes (Pearce was wearing a green hoodie with dark blue jeans and dark-green sneakers, while Arctic was wearing a blue zip-up hoodie that he left uzipped to reveal a white shirt underneath with black jeans and black-and-blue sneakers), the boys waited for the girls.

Once they exited the woods, the girls (Skye was wearing a white-and-yellow dress with white boots, Cupid had on a pink t-shirt with a white skirt and red boots, and Eros wore a dark blue version of Cupid's outfit), regrouped with the boys, and they teleported to the Town of Beginnings via the Teleport Gate in the plaza on the Floor.

By the time they got there, the Tri-Bladers walked around the Town, hoping to ask some of the civilians about Yui. That goal would go unfulfilled as there was no one around. "That's strange," Arctic muttered. "I know from experience that it's much more lively than this." He froze when he heard a scream from the other side of town. "Guys, I heard a scream!"

"What?! Where?!" Solar asked as they all prepared to run.

"Thank God you didn't ask how. Follow me!" Arctic motioned for the others to follow him as he ran in a direction, with the others following behind him. He came to a stop in front of an alley, and winced when he heard the scream again, only much closer than before. "It came from over here!" Arctic said as he rushed in the alley.

 **(x)**

"Jesus, how much farther?!" Pearce shouted as he ran with the others.

"This turn right...HERE!" Arctic slid into a stop, with the others following suit...except for Skye, who sped up at the last second to get there before the others; instead, she slipped and slid right into the wall, yelling, "SHIT!" as she did so.

Arctic and the others winced. "You okay, hon?!" Arctic shouted to his girlfriend.

"Yeah!" Skye shouted back.

"You mind if we go on without you?!"

"No!"

"You're the best!"

"Love you too!" Arctic and the others ran into the alley, leaving Skye to recover. Once they got to the source of the scream, what they saw shocked them to their very cores. The Tri-Bladers had walked in on Asuna beating up an army dude, while Kirito and Yui watched. "ASUNA!"

"Oh, hey guys," Asuna casually greeted them as the last army member got up and ran away from the crazy girl.

"You don't make a very good teen mom, y'know," Arctic said sardonically.

"How do you know I'm a teen?"

"How do I know you're _not_?"

"...Fair point."

"Do you lead a secret life that involves terrorizing the people of the Town of Beginnings?" Pearce interrupted as he watched the army troopers run away.

"No," Asuna said as she rolled her eyes. "The soldiers of the ALF in the Town of Beginnings are abusing their authority and forcing the townsfolk here to pay 'taxes'."

"Funny," Arctic growled. "Last time _I_ was here, there was no 'tax'."

"There isn't. They were trying to get that poor lady and those kids over there to give up all of their equipment as 'payment'." Asuna gestured towards a bespectacled lady clad in a blue dress with a white collar, who was still standing protectively in front of several kids.

"It's okay, you're safe now," Arctic clarified.

"Says who?" the lady said cautiously.

Arctic sighed and said in an almost tired manner, "Says the Shadow of Sword Art Online." Immediately, all the kids that were hiding behind the woman rushed to the hero and crowded around the mercenary.

"Wow! Are you really Shadow?!" one of the kids eagerly asked.

"Yep."

"How do we know you're not lying?" another kid cautiously asked as she crossed her arms.

Arctic took out his Grey Star and held it in front of the kids, who stared at it in awe. "That's how."

"Wow!" The first boy who spoke took the star in his hands and gazed in awe at the mini supernova that was contained in the record crystal-like object. The other kids soon crowed around the boy and started talking excitedly to themselves.

Meanwhile, the others were talking to the lady in the blue dress. "Thank you so much for helping us," the lady expressed her gratitude to Asuna, who smiled and waved it off.

"It's fine. What's your name?" Asuna inquired.

"It's Sasha," the lady said. "I work as a supervisor and caretaker of the kids at the church."

"Did you say the church?" Arctic called suddenly after he took back his star.

"Yes, I did."

"The kids at the daycare relocated there after that fire way back in January, right?"

"I believe so."

Arctic broke into a grin. "Is Jacob still with you guys? He's a tiny kid with a black coat that's way too big for him. I visit him at the end of every month, as his parents have requested me to do."

"Yes, as a matter of fact. He's been very good. I'm sure he's dying to see you again," Sasha answered with a kind smile.

"What're we waiting for, then? Let's go!" Arctic's excitement was curbed, however, when Yui screamed and her eyes widened. Everyone stopped and stared at the girl. Arctic felt his world glitch, for lack of a better word, which stopped only when Yui fainted, being caught from hitting the ground by Asuna. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"My god..." Kirito whispered. "Yui..."

"What was that?" Asuna asked quietly, a question that was spoken in everyone's minds.

 **(x)**

 **The Next Day...**

"There's so..." Kirito started as he looked around the daycare. "Many of them, huh?"

"Yeah, there are," Asuna answered.

"I know, right? It's like this pretty much every day," Sasha said as she watched some of the kids play with the Tri-Blade Alliance's elites. "By the way, is Yui feeling any better?" the daycare owner asked the married couple, turning to them and their "child."

"Well, she got a good night's sleep," Kirito responded, "so I think she's okay. I dunno, you tell me." The aforementioned child was focusing all her attention on a bread roll, so she didn't listen to the grown-ups.

"Has this ever happened to her before?"

"We have no idea," Asuna answered this time. "You see, we found her on Floor 22 wandering the forest. The poor thing, she's lost her memory."

"Oh..."

"That's the reason we came here," Asuna continued her explanation. She looked towards Yui, who was smiling with her eyes closed as she offered her mom the bread roll. "We thought maybe someone from the Town of Beginnings might know who she is," she finished, taking the bread roll and patting Yui on the head affectionately.

"You live here," Kirito said to Sasha. "Does she look familiar to you?"

"Sorry, I haven't. I mean, there _are_ a lot of kids in town, but _I've_ never seen her. When the game started, a lot of the children suffered severe psychological trauma. I couldn't stand by and do nothing, so I moved into this church and made it a safe place for them to live. I walk through the town every day looking for kids like these; kids who need my help. But in all this time, I've never seen her before."

"Back to square one," Asuna muttered dejectedly.

The older players in the room were interrupted by a knocking on the doors of the church. "I'll get it!" Pearce called out as he removed his blindfold (the kids were playing a game with the archer where he had to wear a blindfold and guess what food he was holding based on its smell, feel, and taste in some cases). He opened the door and saw a woman wearing an iron-grey cloak, with silver hair tied back into a ponytail. "Um...hi."

"Sorry to bother you," the woman said as she bowed in respect. "I'm Yulier."

"Come in, don't be shy." Pearce gestured Yulier in, then called out, "Kirito! Asuna! Sasha! You have a visitor!"

"Thank you, Pearce!" Asuna called back as she, Sasha, and Kirito got up and walked over to Yulier. Asuna gave Yulier a quick once-over before crossing her arms and deducing, "You're with the Army, right? I hope you're not here to start trouble because of yesterday."

"You mean when you kicked those jerks' asses and we didn't see it?!" Arctic called.

"God no. In fact, I'm here to thank you," Yulier went on, ignoring the mercenary (who merely shrugged and went back to entertaining the kids with his Grey Star). The three currently talking to Sasha adopted expressions of shock. "You did right by putting those men in their place."

"Huh?" Kirito and Asuna simultaneously said as they looked at each other.

"This looks important, so I'm cutting in," Solar said as he walked up behind the trio (quartet, if you included Yui, who was holding onto Kirito's arm).

"Forgive me for being rude, but who are you?"

"I'm Solar," the aforementioned player held his hand out, which Yulier shook. "I'm the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance."

"I see. I was going to ask these two a favor, but I suppose having some extra help wouldn't hurt."

"Slow down. What's the favor? What's your position in the army? Are we going to kill some things? _Then_ we'll talk about whether or not I help you."

"Of course. Where can we talk?"

"There's a room where we can talk in private."

"May I?"

"Yes, of course."

 **(x)**

"Remind me again why I'm down here?" Solar asked as he walked with Kirito, Asuna, Yulier, and Yui (who insisted on coming along) down the Blackiron Palace dungeon.

"Out of the kindness of your heart?" Asuna offered.

"Because you decided to cut in on _our_ discussion with Yulier?" Kirito offered.

"Because my big brother isn't scared of anything?" Yui offered.

"Only two out of those three things are true," Solar retorted.

"Regardless," Yulier cut in, "thank you for helping me. All of you."

"No sweat. And if things go right back up, Arctic and the rest of my elites should have Kibaou removed from power."

"Again, thank you."

"I said _if_. No guarantee." The quintet stopped in front of a pathway that led to room full of Scavenge Toads. "Ew. Toads."

"I'll take care of it," Kirito offered as he handed Yui off to Asuna before rushing into the room, drawing both of his swords as he did. "RRRRAAAH!" Kirito yelled as he began hacking and slashing away at the toads.

As the quartet watched the beater take care of the toads, Solar looked around. "If we knew about this dungeon beforehand, we wouldn't be having this problem."

Asuna looked at Solar with a raised eyebrow, with her arms on Yui's shoulders as the child gleefully watched her dad kill the toad monsters. "What do you mean?"

"I would've had my guild take care of the monsters in this dugeon, and map it out as well." He smiled and went back to watching Kirito finish off the toads. "Of course, if this were our free day, we'd hire Shadow to get it done."

Asuna smiled as well and mimicked Solar's actions. "Yeah. He would've gotten it done."

"At least then we wouldn't have to deal with these..." Solar glanced at Yui. "...annoying monsters."

"That's the best you've got?"

"Trying to keep it kid-friendly." Solar paused. "Probably failed that on numerous occasions."

"Probably."

Kirito exhaled as he walked back to the group, stretching. "Man, I fought my butt off!"

"I should have helped you," Yulier said apologetically.

"No, not at all. I had a blast! Besides, they dropped some items."

"Really?" Asuna asked curiously. "Did you get anything good?" Kirito smiled and pulled up his menu, bringing out a toad leg. "Wh-whhat is that?!" Asuna asked in disgust.

"It's scavenged toad meat."

"You mean those frogs?!"

'Hey, the weirder the meat, the better the taste!" Kirito answered jovially. "Maybe you can cook it up later."

"NOT ON YOUR LIFE!" Asuna shouted as she snatched the meat from Kirito and chucked it away as far as she could.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kirito shouted in disbelief. "Oh come on, what'd you do that for?! Damn it!" Kirito pulled up his menu again. "Okay, fine! What am I gonna do with these?!" Kirito demanded, holding a large batch of the scavenged toad meat.

Solar, Yui and Yulier all watched as Asuna started throwing the meat away and shouting at Kirito, who started shouting back. "I wish they could save some for us," Solar said quietly to the child. "Your dad's right-that meat _is_ good." While watching the lovers quarrel, Yulier laughed and smiled.

"You're smiling!" Everyone looked at Yui, who had a bright smile on her face as she pointed at Yulier. "I've never ever seen you smile before!" Yui had a happy blush on her face, never losing the innocently happy smile. Everyone's expressions immediately lightened.

"Come on," Asuna said as she took Yui's hand. "Let's go."

 **(x)**

"Hey, a safe zone!" Solar said, pointing ahead.

"There's a player inside," Kirito said when he activated his Tracking skill.

"It's Thinker!" Yulier exclaimed, running to the safe zone.

"Hey, wait!"

"YULIER!" A voice shouted the player-in-question's name from the direction she was dashing to.

"THINKER!" Yulier shouted happily as she reached out to him. The three chased after the Army member, smiling as they reunited two lost souls.

"NO, STAY BACK!" The looks of triumph immediately turned to alarm. "THAT CORRIDOR'S RIGGED!" Right as Thinker said the last word, a monster started to appear next to the oblivious Yulier.

"YULIER, LOOK OUT!" Solar shouted as he tackled Yulier, a metal scythe striking where she once stood. The guild commander stopped the blade's advance by blocking it with his own. The walls adopted an astral look as a tattered cloak flew over their heads. Solar and Kirito readied their weapons and rushed in to fight the boss.

"Yulier." The aforementioned player looked over at Asuna as Yui was handed to her. "Take Yui and get to the safe zone."

"O-okay." Yulier placed her hands on Yui's shoulders and guided her to the safe zone, where Thinker also took refuge.

"Mommy..." Yui said as Yulier took her to the safe zone.

"Come on." Yulier stood by Thinker with Yui near the two.

Asuna drew Lambent Light and looked over to make sure that Yui was safe. Once she was certain, she ran forward and joined the guys in fighting the monster. She observed the monster in it's entirety; it was a giant hooded figure that was floating above the ground and wielded a scythe as huge as the monster itself was. What added to the creep factor was the fact that the monster's face was nothing but a skull. "If Arctic were here," Solar started as his eyes stayed fixated on the boss, "he'd equip Blood Rose and challenge this thing to a death match."

"Probably," Kirito seconded as he got ready to block an attack. The boss roared, and Asuna tensed. "Asuna," she turned to Kirito when he called her, "use a teleport crystal to get Yui and the others out of here now." He and Solar tensed when the boss raised its scythe. "I can't see its data with my ID skill. It could be as strong as something from Floor 90. We'll buy you time! Get everyone out of here!"

"There's no way I'm leaving you here!" Asuna protested.

"SHIT!" Solar yelled as he saw the scythe come down. He ran to block and parry it, but the boss swung its weapon at the last second and knocked him into the wall.

Kirito growled as he saw his friend go down. He looked back at Asuna. "We'll catch up! Move it!"

Asuna hesitated and looked back at Yui, Thinker, and Yulier. "Mommy..." Yui softly called to her.

Asuna smiled, then adopted a commanding expression and tone. "Take care of Yui! Run while you still have a chance!"

"Asuna!" Kirito looked over at her again.

"Don't...be...stupid!" Solar called as he got back to his feet slowly. "We'll teleport out when you guys are safe!"

"No! We can't leave-!" Yulier called.

"Hurry!" Asuna interrupted.

The boss slowly advanced towards Kirito (who was rejoined by Solar). Yulier brought out three teleport crystals and gave one to Thinker. They looked at Asuna, who nodded at them and gave them the go-ahead. After that, she ran ahead and joined Kirito and Solar, both of whom prepared to fight.

The boss raised its scythe high and swung it in an arc towards the three front-liners. Asuna brought her rapier in front of Kirito's swords, and Solar raised his sword in a defensive position. These methods proved to be ineffective, and they all screamed in pain as the boss sent them flying and crashing onto the ground, Solar having rolled away a couple extra feet since he took damage earlier.

"Ow..." Solar complained as he tried to get up, but failed. "That...really...fucking...hurt."

"You're telling me," Kirito complained as he staggered up, then fell to his knees.

"You shouldn't be talking! I took a hit for you earlier!"

"BOYS! FOCUS!" Asuna shouted when she got to her feet.

"YES, MA'AM!" The male players shouted back.

"Anything we should know, Kirito?" Solar asked, taking a defensive stance.

"I can't get a read on it," Kirito answered after a moment's silence. "As far I know, this boss could be all the way from Floor 90."

"You're kidding!" Solar sighed and got ready to charge. "Ah well, the best we can do right now is hit it till it dies. CHARGE!"

 **(x)**

Yulier pulled out two teleport crystals and handed one to Thinker. Yui watched the fight in concern, then adopted a look of determination as she rushed forward. The couple gave sounds of alarm before they teleported without the girl. Solar grit his teeth and readied to attack again, despite his low HP...only to stop in his tracks when Yui stood in front of him. "YUI, NO! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" His words fell on deaf ears as the monster swung at her.

The attack never hit.

Kirito looked up from the ground and saw a violet barrier over Yui, with a hexagonal shape of the corresponding color hovering over her.

"Immortal Object."

Flames surrounded the little girl and she jumped up high, bringing out a massive fire-sword as her clothes burned away to reveal her white dress. Without a sound, she swung the blade and sliced the monster lean in half, immediately disintegrating it. She looked towards the stunned players. "Mommy. Daddy. Big Brother. I remember now."

 **(x)**

"Everything in Sword Art Online is created by a single, massive system. The system is called Cardinal. Its function is to regulate the balance of SAO according to its own discretion. Everything, from monsters and NPC AIs to drop rates for items and money, is controlled by this system, and that includes the psychological care of the players." Yui closed her eyes. "Mental Health Counseling Program, prototype 1. Code name: Yui." She opened her eyes again and smiled sadly at the three players. "That is who I am."

"Wait...You're a program?" Solar asked in shock.

"I was designed to put players at ease. That's why I was given the ability to emulate complicated emotions. Nothing about me is real...nothing." The young "girl" smiled again as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Not even these tears."

"But...what about your amnesia?" Asuna asked. "Can that even happen to an AI?"

"Two years ago, on the day of he official launch, Cardinal blocked me from interacting with and helping the players who were in distress. All I could do was monitor their mental states. Their situation, in a word, was horrible. Terror, despair, rage. All players were slowly being overcome by negative emotions. Especially..." Yui shuddered as a certain player came to mind. "Despite all that, I wasn't permitted to interact with any of them. Gradually, errors began to accrue within me, and I fell apart.

"Then, one day, I saw several players whose mental parameters were vastly different from all the rest. There was joy and peace."

"Who were these players, Yui?" Kirito asked curiously.

"You, Kirito and Asuna. And the Tri-Blade Alliance as well. Their 'elites' were some of the few to hold out hope that the game will be beaten. Well, except for their leader."

"Who, me?" Solar pointed a finger at himself in confusion. Yui smiled again and shook her head.

"Arctic. Since his first kill-and by extension, the death of his girlfriend Takano-he has been the epitome of negative emotions, and he was one of the players I needed to help the most. You, on the other hand," Yui gave Solar an admiring look, "never gave in to the darkness after your brother died. The both of you were alone when you lost your loved ones, especially when dealing with the grief. Your unique equipment personify your choices."

"You mean the Shadow Set and my wristbands?"

"Exactly. The two of you were given very similar opportunities to deal with your grief; yet your refusal of the Shadow Set and his acceptance of it showed how incredibly different you were. You chose to reject the darkness while Arctic accepted it. But you both ended up as heroes in the eyes of the civilians."

Solar bit his lower lip. "I'm no-"

"You _are_ a hero, no matter what you say. Your actions and words throughout the two years of Sword Art Online clearly show that. I believe that it's possible that if you both chose the other options, you would end up following the same path the other did. You'd make a name as Sword Art Online's Shadow, and Arctic would make his name as the fearless leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance."

"You...seriously think that?"

"I know it." Yui smiled sadly as tears came to her eyes and she sniffled. "I wouldn't lie to my big brothers."

Solar smiled and hugged the girl tightly." Oh, Yui...Please don't go..." Solar sniffled as tears started to stream down his cheeks. He reluctantly broke the hug, and Yui stretched her arms out.

"I don't want to leave...Mommy! Daddy! Big Brother!"

Oh, Yui!" Asuna cried as she and Kirito hugged their child. "We don't want you to leave either!" Yui smiled sadly and hugged back as tears started to fall down from her eyes. When she inevitably shattered, Asuna cried, "NO!"

"Damn you, Kayaba! Cardinal!" Kirito shouted as he rushed to the console Yui sat on and began typing on the keyboard. "If I'm fast enough, maybe I can..." Kirito was cut off as a bright flash blew him back.

Solar and Asuna caught him before he cold hit the floor. "What did you just do?" Solar asked as tears streaked his face.

Kirito smiled slightly as he held up a tear-shaped object in his hand. "I converted Yui's data to my NerveGear. This is what's left of her." The item in his hand read, "Yui's Heart."

"That's good to hear." Solar smiled slightly and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Come on. Let's go back to the others. And guys?"

"Yeah?" Kirito and Asuna asked in unison.

"Can you keep a secret?"

 **(x)**

"And that's what happened," Kirito said as he sat in a chair facing the others. They were back in the church, and were talking in an isolated room where the kids wouldn't be able to hear them. "Yui's gone, and that's all what's left of her." He pointed to the tear-shaped object Asuna wore as a pendant around her neck.

"Th-That's so..." Pearce started as he cried silently.

"Horrible," Eros finished as she sniffled.

"Guys, we're so sorry," Akira sobbed.

"She was taken back too soon," Skye wept.

"Is...there anything we can do?" Cupid asked as she cried.

"No, but thanks for offering, you guys," Asuna smiled lightly.

Arctic remained silent, but clearly wanted to say something. Solar glanced over at his silent brother-in-arms. "Something you want to say?" Solar asked.

"...Yeah, actually." Arctic sat up straight and looked Kirito dead in the eyes. "I get why you did it, but I don't get _why_ you did it."

"Care to specify?" Kirito asked as he crossed his arms and stared Arctic down.

"I understand why you saved Yui, but you could've logged everyone out early. You could've ended this damn nightmare early."

"What're you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything. I just want to hear your reasoning."

"I'll put it this way: if you had to choose between your sister or all the players currently alive in SAO, who would you pick to save?"

"My sister," Arctic responded immediately.

"There you go. Place Yui in that situation and you'll see why I did it."

"..." Arctic remained silent for a few minutes. "I'm not saying that I particularly like your decision, but I'm supporting it all the way, as an understanding friend."

This time, it was Kirito's turn to go silent. Finally, he smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem. Something tells me you'd do the same for me."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

 **(x)**

 **Next chapter...**

"I don't see why not," Arctic shrugged as he hopped off of his favored branch. He looked around and smiled as he saw all of his allies training with each other. "You seeing this?"

"Yeah," the beater remarked as he crossed his arms and smiled when he saw what Arctic saw. "They could be using this time to relax, but they're training their hearts out."

"That's how you can tell they're bona-fide Tri-Bladers." Arctic shook his head. "Anyway, you wanted to duel me?"

"Yep." Kirito turned his attention back to Arctic. "The last time we had a duel was in the beta test, so I want to see how far we both came since then."

"Sure. The mercenary and the beater." Arctic smiled. "Dagger's going to have a field day with this."

 **(x)**

 **A/N: This Friday, on October 6th, The Tri-Blade Alliance will be one year old!**

 **S/N: *pops a party horn* Thank you guys so much for supporting us for one year now! We promise we'll try to upload more frequently, but no guarantees.**

 **A/N: And as always, Read and Review!**

 **S/N: Till next time!**


	28. Chapter 28: Calm Before the Storm

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 28: Calm Before the Storm**

 **A/N: Finally, an original chapter!**

 **S/N: About time!**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **(x)**

"The first scout party's dead?!" Solar asked in shock as many others gasped at the news. Heathcliff calmly tapped his shield on the ground to put an end to the commotion.

"I'm afraid so," he said calmly. "They were ordered to scout and map the Floor 75th boss room. However, when they reached the middle of the room, the doors closed. 5 minutes later, they reopened—and there was no trace of the soldiers; our best explanation is that they encountered the boss all by their lonesome, and died as a result."

Arctic growled and walked out of the room, with no one questioning or stopping him; this kind of thing has been more common as of late, and everyone thought it best for their health _not_ to pry into his business.

"Right. Now, we just need to come up with a strategy," Ren said as he held his chin in his hand in thought.

"But how are we going to do that without a map?" A soldier questioned.

"That's the thing," Solar said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "We can't. We'll just have to improvise."

 **(x)**

 **Some Time Later...**

All the guild commanders and vice commanders looked up from the round table as the doors to the K.O.B.'s war room opened, and Arctic entered. He kept his gaze straight as he walked up to the table and stood in front of Heathcliff. "Ah, Arctic," the K.O.B. commander said with an amused smile. "Have you concluded your business yet?" The mercenary said nothing as he opened his menu and transferred some data over to Solar and Heathcliff.

After opening the newly acquired data, Heathcliff's eyes noticeably widened as Solar asked, "I-Is this—?!"

"Yup," Arctic said with a triumphant look adorning his face. "I made a party and managed to create a map of the entire dungeon _and_ the boss room."

"Impressive," Heathcliff smiled. "Did you, perhaps, manage to get a look at the boss?"

"Unfortunately, no. I instructed all my members to stay away from the middle of the room, so as to avoid a potentially fatal encounter. Sorry about that." The mercenary bowed his head in apology as he stated, "I can go get a look now, if you want."

"No!" Solar and Skye both shouted, causing Arctic to flinch. When noticing all eyes on them, the pair blushed. "Sorry, but I can't afford to lose another brother," Solar said sheepishly.

"And I'm not too keen on losing my boyfriend," Skye said after her leader.

"Right. Anyways, after analyzing the room myself, I think I have a strategy." All eyes immediately went to Arctic after he had spoken.

"Well?" Ren said after a few moments of silence. "Aren't you going to finish?"

 **(x)**

"Good news, everyone!" Solar jovially shouted to the front-line fighters outside of Granzam. "We have a strategy!" Once the uproarious cheers died down, Solar cleared his throat and said, "I'm not the one who came up with it, but one of my elites did. Arctic, your turn in the spotlight." The aforementioned player stood up and walked over so that he was in front of the other players. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Alright, listen up! I'm happy to answer any questions. _But_ —" he said as several hands came up, "—if you ask _any_ dumbass questions about the strategy or how _I_ came up with it, I will personally send you to the Shadow Realm! Got that?" All hands went down, except for one. "You. What's your question?"

"Is the Shadow Realm what you call your torture room or sex dungeon?"

"Yes, now sit down and shut up." Arctic pulled up the map of the boss room that he and his scout party made. "This map is authentic, to all you nonbelievers. Now, as you can see, the room has multiple platforms, so I've devised a strategy. Here's how we're gonna do this.

"We'll have to take advantage of the other platforms, so we need to place all our archers on them. Make sure to leave room to move around, 'cause the last thing we need is players falling off and dying. Pearce, Cupid—you two will lead the archers and get to the platforms by circling around the main arena down here," Arctic traced the floor arena for emphasis, "so the doors won't close just yet. From what I've seen, the doors shut only after the majority of the party is in the center, so we can avoid that easily. Got it?"

"Got it," the archer and the lancer confirmed simultaneously.

"Ren, Riku, and Helios." The three males of Wyvern's Inferno payed attention to the mercenary. "You guy lead the AGI- and STR-based fighters, and if you ask me who's leading who, Helios—"

"Shadow Realm, got it," Helios casually waved the threat away.

"I was gonna say 'I'll dropkick you into next Tuesday', but Shadow Realm's fine, too. The STR-based fighters— _not_ the tanks—will receive special shields that I'll provide, so they can attack the boss with said shields. You guys get as much DPS in on the boss before letting the tanks parry or blocking and switching out to the AGI-based fighters. Speedies, you guys dodge back and let the big boys block the hit. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Akira, you're going to lead the tanks. You guys will have the most dangerous job; blocking and parrying. The reason this is so dangerous is because we have no idea of the boss' STR and AGI parameters, so we're dealing with wild cards here. I'll give your tanks stronger shields and better weapons."

"Fine by me," Akira responded. "I just want to get this hell over with."

"Alright. Now here comes the fun part: Kirito, Asuna, Heathcliff, Solar, Skye, Eros, and I will aggro the boss and attack it from all sides. Ren, Helios, Riku, you guys join us when you can."

"What about us?" Pearce asked as he motioned to himself and Cupid.

"You guys shouldn't leave your spots. Find the boss' weak points and exploit them as much as you can."

"Are you sure?"

"Have I ever been wrong before?"

 _Yes!_ All of Arctic's friends wanted to shout, but didn't because he was on a roll. "Yes. You have," Pearce stated.

"Not the point! Now, I'll provide all of you with equipment that I'm sure will take better care of you than your current gear."

"What about items?!" A different soldier called out.

"Buy 'em off Dagger or something, I don't give a fuck."

"Don't you know how much she charges?!"

"Hey Dagger!" Arctic called.

"Yeah?!" Dagger called back.

"Shadow!"

"FUCK!"

"There you go. Everyone gets half-off. Last question, make it count!"

"How are you going to give us _all_ the equipment? I assume you'll be giving the gear to all those who weren't able to attend this meeting."

"Tomorrow, 3 pm. Tell everyone in every floor-clearing guild to be outside the Tri-Blade Alliance's base ops."

"Yessir!"

"Don't call me sir. I hate that. Now then, last piece of info: we talked it over prior to this meeting, and we have decided to give everyone a week to do whatever—train, be with whatever family you have here, et cetera. Make sure you're prepared; this'll be our hardest battle yet."

 **(x)**

"So," Solar said as he, his guild, and all of the other front-liners were following Arctic up to Floor 52, "I take it you're not gonna tell us anything about where we're going?"

"Nope," Arctic said as he marched on. "Just know that you'll all get treats if you don't ask questions."

"I...don't know what to say to that."

"Fine by me. We're here anyway." Arctic stopped in front of a doorway that had a large rock covering its entrance, forcing the others to stop as well. Without a sound, Arctic walked towards the rock and lifted it up with some effort; while carrying the rock, he shuffled slowly to the side and set it down.

Sighing and wiping his brow clean of sweat, he turned to the others and smiled. "Just beyond here. And stay behind me." Once they all entered, they came face-to-face with another door.

Going up and placing his hand on it, the mercenary turned back to his fellow front-liners. "Warning: every single item in there is precious to me. If I find out _any_ of them go missing after I show you them, you'll _all_ pay," he finished as his eyes blackened for a second. Everyone audibly gulped after Arctic's eyes visibly changed, and nodded to show their understanding. Immediately, his eyes returned to normal and he gave a closed-eyes smile. "Great! Prepared to be amazed!" And with that, Arctic opened the door to his safehouse.

"What..." Solar started as he looked around in amazement.

"The..." Pearce continued as he looked around in awe.

"Fuck?" Skye finished as she looked around in wonder.

"When?" Klein asked as he picked up a nearby A-class katana.

"How?" Kirito inquired as he picked up some gauntlets and inspected them.

"Why'd you keep this a secret from us?" Agil asked as he and Dagger stared in awe at the mounds of weapons and equipment that Arctic kept in his warehouse.

"The 'when' and 'how' was back when I was still Shadow, and Kutthroat gave me the location to this warehouse when I interrogated him before his escape. As for why I never told the two of you about this—well, what kind of customer would I be if I sold you every weapon I had?" Arctic responded to the questions.

"Our best?" Dagger asked as she picked up a sword and inspected it, widening her eyes when she saw that it was primarily composed of gold with some iron for increased durability.

"No, I'd be stupid. If I had sold you all of these weapons, then we wouldn't be here."

"It's still not fair," Agil complained.

"Tell you what—when we're done with the boss fight, I'll sell you duplicates of three weapons of your choice. Sound good?"

"I guess," the two merchants said glumly.

"Good. Now go crazy, everyone!" After that, everyone snapped out of their stupor and rushed to build their arsenal.

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day One...**

 **Floor One: Town of Beginnings...**

"You're home!" Jacob shouted in glee as Rose entered their house, running up to her and wrapping his arms around her neck while she bent down to hug back.

"I told you I wouldn't be long," the older woman laughed as she picked up her ridiculously tiny son. "The meeting wasn't as long as I thought it would be, too."

"Ah, you're back," Yin said with a wide smile as he walked into the living room from the kitchen, kissing his wife on the cheek. "How long are you staying?" He inquired, going back to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Rose.

"Let's see..." Rose said playfully as she "calculated" her free time. "A whole week, starting today." Yin nearly dropped his wife's drink before setting it on the table, him and Jacob staring at the woman in shock.

"Seriously?!" The two most important men in her life damn near shouted as they crowded around her.

"Yeah. Commander Heathcliff and the others were gracious enough to give all the front-liners an entire week of free time." She smiled as she bounced Jacob on her knee, making him laugh and smile. " _I_ chose to be with my two favorite boys."

"Well, we're very happy you did, sweetie," Yin said as he sat down. Rose gently set Jacob down so she could go to town on her meal, as she hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"I never did understand how you could make food so good," she said with a mouth full of chicken.

"Don't talk with a full mouth. That's rude," Yin playfully scolded her. Rose simply rolled her eyes and swallowed her food. "And I've grown up wanting to learn how to cook. I never liked the stereotype that women are always in the kitchen."

"That must've earned you a lot of ridicule."

"Like you wouldn't believe. But now I have a beautiful and strong wife, a handsome and exceptional son," Yin continued as he kissed Rose, who kissed him back. "So who wins in the end?"

"You do, Dad!" Jacob said happily as he popped up in between the couple.

Yin chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, eliciting a giggle from the boy. "Exactly."

"So what's planned for tonight?" Rose asked as she dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, having finished her food.

"Well," Yin started as he stood up and collected his wife's dishes, "I was thinking that we could go out on a date tonight."

"We'll need a sitter, then," Rose stated.

"I've got someone in mind."

 **Later that night...**

"Dad!" Jacob groaned. "I don't want a babysitter!"

"You'll want this one," Yin ignored his son's pleas. He and Rose were waiting, and were formally dressed for their date night, for the sitter. He heard a knock on the door and went up to open it. "Ah, good. You're here."

"Pleasure to be here again, sir," the player at the door said as he smiled at the father. "Where's the kid?"

"He's in the main room with my wife. Thanks for coming in this late."

"It's fine. I, of all people, should know how important maintaining a relationship is."

"Rose!" Yin called. "Let's go, darling."

"Coming, sweetie!" Rose called back before turning and kneeling to Jacob's level. "Behave and listen, ok, baby?"

"Yes, mom," Jacob said glumly.

"All right." Rose kissed Jacob on the head. "I love you."

"Love you too."

After Rose greeted the sitter and left with Yin, the sitter stepped in. "Wow. You haven't gotten taller, huh?"

"Mr. Shadow?!" Jacob asked as he stood up in shock. "You're my sitter?!"

"It's Mr. _Arctic_ to you," Arctic jokingly said as he ruffled Jacob's hair. "I haven't been Shadow in months."

"R-Right! Man, this is gonna be so much fun!"

"Hell yeah!"

 **(x)**

"We're home!" Yin said as he and Rose entered the house.

"Oh, hey!" Arctic smiled when he heard Yin and Rose enter, turning to face them from the couch. "Shh," he said quietly when Rose opened her mouth to speak. "He's asleep," the mercenary mouthed while motioning to the couch to where Jacob was fast asleep with his treasured coat wrapped around him like a blanket.

"H-How'd you get to sleep so fast?!" Rose whispered in amazement.

"You'd be amazed at how much _Metal Gear_ teaches you."

"Wait, what?"

"This is free of charge, so don't worry about payment," Arctic waved off Yin's attempt to pay him as the mercenary left the house. "This is one job I'm happy to do for free."

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day 2...**

"Wassup?" Kirito said as he walked over to Arctic's tree, fist-bumping the mercenary and leaning back on the tree.

"Nothin' much. Everyone's here now." Arctic nodded towards a branch on the tree.

"Oh, so _Bella_ gets to climb your tree, but I can't even touch a twig without your permission?"

"Problem?" Arctic and Bella both said, the latter popping out from one of the lower branches.

"And besides, I can trust her _not_ to try and sneak up on my personal favorite branch."

"That's fair. Now, what are we doing here?"

"We're gonna try to see if we can implement Bella in the strategy without having to actually change the strategy." Arctic leaned forward, and Kirito leaned in as well. "Here's what I think we should do..."

 **Later...**

"And there," Arctic said with a clap of his hands. "To recap, Bella will be one of the fighters to attack the boss up front, alongside me, you, Asuna, Solar, Skye, Heathcliff, and Eros."

"Yup," Kirito said, while Bella simply smiled and remained silent.

"You need any weapons or armor, Bella?"

"I'm fine," the Silver Shadow said.

"Really? If you say so."

"There you are!" The trio turned to see Skye walking up to them, dressed in new clothes. She was wearing a high-class variant of her "Peacock Coat", now having black outlines around the coat, and having golden details adorning the bottom half while retaining the same white-yellow-gray color scheme, with a breastplate over her yellow top, a black miniskirt with stockings of the same color, and white steel-toed boots. "We need you for something."

"Hey, babe," Arctic said.

"Hey, sweetie," Skye replied.

"Who's 'we'?"

"The STR-based fighters. I was going by when I saw Helios training them, but you haven't taught them how to attack with shields."

"Ah, right. Thanks for reminding me. Take me to them."

"This way," Skye motioned for the mercenary to follow her. Arctic looked back towards Kirito and Bella, waving back as they said goodbye (Kirito with a wave of his hand, Bella with a nod of her head) before following his girlfriend. The two walked around the courtyard, where numerous other front-liners were either practicing their roles in the strategy or simply relaxing and chatting with each other. Finally, the couple reached the area where the STR-based fighters were training. "Here he is, guys!" Skye called to the players while motioning to Arctic.

"Skye brought it to my attention that I didn't teach you guys how to properly attack with a shield," Arctic spoke. The players nodded. "Take out your shields." The players did so. "You," Arctic pointed at a player in front of him, "let me see the shield." The player gave him the shield. Arctic equipped the shield and pointed to a scratched-up tree that was frequently used for training due to its durability. "Watch me." The players kept their eyes on Arctic as he got a running start, then bashed the tree with all of his might, shaking it. "That's the first way. Now I need a partner." One of the players walked forward when Arctic pointed to him. "Kneel and cover yourself with your shield." The player followed the instructions. Arctic walked back a couple of meters, then ran forward and jumped on the player's shield. "Launch me up!" The player gave Arctic a massive boost by pushing his shield upwards. Arctic held the shield with both hands and propelled himself downwards with the shield facing down. He slammed the shield down on the tree, causing a massive scratch dent in the bark. "Do that also," Arctic said as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Now, there's one more way: just fight like Heathcliff if you want to. Just practice. A lot."

"Umm," a player said before falling silent.

"What's up?"

"Can you show us how _you'd_ fight with a shield?"

"Gladly. Help me out?" He asked Skye, who smiled and nodded. She walked to the front of her tree and drew her sword. She rushed forward and started slashing at the damaged bark of the tree before jumping back and calling for a switch. Arctic simply walked forward and pulled her back. He looked back and smiled at her, which she returned, before he turned forward and slammed the ground in front of the tree with all his might, using his shield. When he looked up, he inhaled sharply when he saw the tree fall over and shatter. "You...might need to find a new tree."

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't call me that!"

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day 3...**

"It won't be long, sweetie," Solar promised Akira as she met him at the door. "Just an hour or so."

"I don't see why I can't go with you," Akira huffed.

"Who's gonna watch Arctic? Everyone else is out, and you're his friend. Better you than Pearce."

"Arctic _is_ a bit..."

"Well, he's Arctic."

"I'll make sure he doesn't leave his tree."

"Thanks, baby. I love you," Solar said before he kissed Akira.

Akira kissed him back and smiled. "I love you too. Be careful."

"It'll just be an hour, tops."

"If you're not back in an hour, I'm sending a search party after you."

"Got it. Pearce!" Solar shouted to behind Akira. "C'mon! We don't have all day!"

"Yes, boss!" Pearce called back as he picked up his bow and slung it over his shoulder, and made sure all of the arrows were in his quiver. Satisfied, Pearce ran out, bidding goodbye to Akira a he exited. "So where're we going?" Pearce questioned Solar as the two walked out. In response, once they were a good distance away, Solar held out his teleport crystal and glanced at Pearce. The archer took the cue and brought out his own crystal. He held his crystal up after Solar and, once the leader shouted his destination and disappeared, Pearce repeated, "Teleport: Iridescent Lake!"

 **(x)**

 **Floor 1: Iridescent Lake...**

"You know why we're here now, right?" Solar asked Pearce as the archer appeared.

"I think so," Pearce responded as he dusted himself off.

"Great. Let's go." The two began walking towards the lake, and, once they reached it, began walking west along the riverbank. After some time, they arrived at stone with a sword impaled through it.

"Why're we here, boss?"

"It's simple, really. Lisbeth managed to craft me a belt that'll let me hold two weapons, but only allow me to use one. I want to have Caliburn at my side just in case something happens to Infinity Blazer."

"Ah. If you want, I could—"

"It's fine. Just let me go grab it." Solar walked up to Caliburn and grabbed its hilt. With all of his might, Solar yanked the sword out of its stony scabbard, and sheathed it at his side. Once it was placed there, the sword disappeared, its appearance invisible to the outside. Solar began feeling tears in his eyes after remembering what happened at his area, and quickly wiped his eyes. Before he was able to let any tears flow, he turned and walked back to Pearce. "Let's go," the leader instructed, prompting a nod from the archer. The two exited the area (as normal teleport crystals wouldn't work near the rock Caliburn was trapped in), and teleported back to their base.

"So what now, boss?" Pearce questioned Solar.

"First, this is between you and me. Got it?" Solar said. Pearce nodded. "Secondly, I'm going to train with this in secret, and you're going to help me. Got it?" Pearce nodded. "And finally, let's go back and check in with Akira. I don't know if she was serious about the search party, and I don't intend on finding out."

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day 4...**

"You...wanna duel?"

"Yep."

"Are you sure about that? I won't go all out, y'know."

"So? It'd be a great way to test our skills."

"I don't see why not," Arctic shrugged as he hopped off of his favored branch. He looked around and smiled as he saw all of his allies training with each other. "You seeing this?"

"Yeah," the beater remarked as he crossed his arms and smiled when he saw what Arctic saw. "They could be using this time to relax, but they're training their hearts out."

"That's how you can tell they're bona-fide Tri-Bladers." Arctic shook his head. "Anyway, you wanted to duel me?"

"Yep." Kirito turned his attention back to Arctic. "The last time we had a duel was in the beta test, so I want to see how far we both came since then."

"Sure. The mercenary and the beater." Arctic smiled. "Dagger's going to have a field day with this."

 **(x)**

"Once-in-a-lifetime match here, folks!" Dagger called to the back of the ever-growing line. "Normal tickets—only 25,000 Col! Front row seats—100,000 Col! Get your tickets now before they're gone!"

"Thank God we know both fighters," Solar muttered to Asuna as the two stood watching the match, the rest of the Tri-Bladers behind him and waiting for the match to begin.

"I'm just hoping no one gets killed," Asuna muttered back.

"You want me to hold back, Ki-buddy?" Arctic asked as he stretched.

"What fun would that be?" Kirito asked with a smile. He slowly drew his blades and pointed Dark Repulsor in Arctic's direction. "I can't tell how far we came if you don't go at me all out."

"Is it me, or does this sound super sexual right now?"

"Only you would notice that." Both fighters got into battle positions: Kirito held one blade in front of him and the other close to his side, while Arctic kept his hand on his sword's handle without unsheathing it and kept his Grey Star clutched in his right hand.

The two players stared each other down for a good while, before disappearing and meeting blades in the middle of the battlefield. They struggled against each other for a while, grinning like madmen, before Arctic broke the clash and swung his sword down with two hands. Kirito swiftly dodged the attack, and retaliated with a double sword swing of his own. Arctic warped out of the strike, but strangely didn't reappear. Kirito readied his blades and cautiously looked around. The wind got knocked out of him as Arctic shoulder-tackled the Black Swordsman from behind, prompting Kirito to roll back to his feet. Arctic chased after Kirito and was preparing to slam the blade down on the beater, but instead had his feet swept out from under him. Kirito did a kip-up at the same time Arctic did. At this point, the two realized that they were breathing heavily, but they noticed that the other was grinning like an idiot.

The two roared as they charged at the other and clashed blades in the middle of the temporary arena, staring each other down past the blades. Arctic smirked as he piled on the pressure. "I don't know about you," the mercenary said over the sound of clashing metal, "but I'm having the time of my life!"

Kirito smirked and increased the pressure, forcing Arctic to drop his guard as he dashed back. "Starburst Stream!" Kirito shouted as he began to put the hurt on his opponent. Arctic blocked against most of the hits, but had his guard broken when the beater slammed his swords down. Capitalizing on this, Kirito executed the rest of the combo, slowly draining Arctic of his HP. Before he could get the last hit, however, Arctic warped out.

Kirito looked around for his opponent, confused as to where he would retreat. The foot driven into the beater's back left him winded as saliva flew out of his mouth. He lurched forward slightly, turning and slashing...at nothing. A slice to his side forced him to turn and attack, with the same result. Soon, he was being assaulted from all sides, and he couldn't do anything about it except take the hits. "Systematic Eclipse!" Arctic shouted as he attacked Kirito with his own combo, teleporting so that he was above Kirito. He roared as he sent himself crashing down towards the beater, sword extended to the ground. Kirito narrowly dodged the final hit, and covered himself as dust settled from the force of the impact. Arctic pulled his sword of the ground and ran his hand along it, wiping away all the dust on it. "Damn. I was hoping that'd hit."

"I get the feeling you're low-key trying to kill me," Kirito replied as he dusted himself off.

"Hey, I'm restraining myself."

"Try harder!" Kirito readied both of his swords.

"Shut up!" Arctic readied his sword.

 **Meanwhile, in the stands...**

"Hm?" Pearce said softly as he saw Arctic's sword. His eyes widened when he saw some very faint darkness erupt from the hilt of the sword, as well as a brief blackening of Arctic's eyes. "Boss!" Pearce whispered to Solar.

"What is it, Pearce?" Solar whispered back, his eyes still on the duel.

"Arctic—his eyes and sword—I see some darkness!"

"Tell me you're joking," Solar said a little bit louder as he turned his head to look at Pearce.

"Would I lie to you?"

"…" Solar turned back to duel and shouted, "Stop the duel!"

"What? Why?" Kirito lowered his swords and stared at Solar.

Arctic's eyes completely blackened as he yelled, "DIE!", charging at Kirito with his sword thrusted outwards. Kirito barely turned back to Arctic with eyes widened and mouth opened wide in shock as he brought his sword up to block the hit. Thankfully, the killing blow never landed as Arctic's sword was blocked by Solar's sword.

"Snap out of it!" Solar commanded as he piled on the pressure, forcing the mercenary to his knees.

"Can't...tell me...what to do!" Arctic shouted back.

"SNAP! OUT! OF! IT!" Solar yelled louder.

Arctic's eyes returned to normal and he yelled, "Okay, okay!"

"Good." Solar drew back and sheathed his sword before helping Arctic up. "Now apologize."

"Yes, dad." Arctic turned around and smiled apologetically at the beater. "Sorry for trying to kill you. You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kirito smiled back. "And thanks for the apology."

"Yeah, yeah. You want the W, or should I have it?"

"Oh hell no. I almost died, so I should get it."

"And the winner is, by interference...ARCTIC!" The referee shouted as everyone who bet on the mercenary cheered.

"...If it helps, you won in my book."

"Gee, thanks."

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day 5...**

Eros whistled merrily as she walked around the grounds of the Tri-Blade Alliance's headquarters. As it was a rather nice day out, she decided to go for a walk. She was planning on asking Cupid to join her, but thought better when she saw her..."hanging out" with Pearce. As she was walking around and enjoying the weather, before being pulled into an alleyway. A gloved hand covered her mouth before she could scream. When she looked up at her mugger, she rolled her eyes and pushed them away. "You're so extra. You know that?" She asked Arctic in annoyance, dusting herself off and staring at him, hands on her hips.

"Loud and proud," Arctic said slyly. "Anyway, I wanted to give you something."

"You couldn't do that in public why, exactly?"

"You kidding? The press would go nuts over this."

"Wait, what press?"

"Oh. And here I thought you were someone famous."

"Just give me the damn object."

"Fine. First off, have you been keeping up with your training?"

"I mastered the One-Handed Sword category long ago," the dancer said proudly.

"Perfect," Arctic said with a smile. He opened his menu and took out a sword. With a dramatic flair, he knelt before his friend and held his hands out, a jet-black sword laid out on them horizontally. "Your sword, milady," the mercenary said in an English tone.

"Why, thank you," Eros said in the same tone as she took the sword from his hands. "Hold up, is this obsidian?" She asked, stopping the joke.

"Yup. I had Liz make it while I was Shadow. Y'know, in case I ever decided to replace my Sword of Shadows. I didn't, so I chose to pass it off to you. If you want it, that is."

"You kidding? Of course I want it!"

"Sometimes I feel like you keep me around so you can have nice things."

"Don't say that. You're a decent bodyguard."

"Decent?"

"You _were_ a little rough with me."

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

 **(x)**

 **Later...**

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me."

"Anything for you," Akira said as she crossed her arms, leaning on Arctic's tree. "What's up?"

"First off, why does everyone automatically assume I want to meet by my tree?"

"Umm...I think's because it's conventional?"

"It's annoying, that's what it is."

"We can go somewhere else if you want."

"What's the point? We're already here and talkin'."

"O...kay..."

"Okay, back on track." Arctic turned away and took a deep, shaky breath as he closed his eyes.

"You okay?" Akira asked in concern as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, just...give me a minute." Arctic took one last breath, and opened his menu. He took an item out of his inventory, and turned back to his friend once it formed. In the mercenary's hands was a stainless-steel axe with a black blade that looked sharp enough to cut cleanly through flesh and bone, and it had a polished rosewood handle that reflected the evening sun's light.

"I-is this...?" Akira asked quietly, hands over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

"'Takano's Love' is what I named it," Arctic said softly, yet loud enough so that Akira could hear him. "It's an S-class weapon now. In Shadow's hands, it nearly killed a fellow player during a training session, so imagine the hell you could raise with this." He fell silent and looked down as he extended the axe to his friend. "I'm sorry..." Arctic said quietly once the axe left his hands and went into Akira's. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop my blade, and I killed her." He started shaking as tears started streaming down his face. "I understand if you hate me," he continued in a shaky voice before he started sobbing uncontrollably.

Akira immediately pulled the mercenary into a comforting hug, letting him cry on her shoulder as tears began streaming down her face. "I-I don't hate you," she whispered in a shaky voice. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was," he sobbed. "I killed her!" Arctic softly exclaimed.

"Hey," Akira said as she drew back. She looked the vulnerable mercenary right in the eyes, her hands firmly grasped on his shoulders. "Stay strong." Akira wiped away her tears. "She'd want for us to fight for her, not cry."

"Y-You're right." Arctic sniffled as he wiped away his tears with his sleeve. "Damn, I must've looked pathetic..."

"Don't say that." Akira pulled him into another hug, which was gladly returned. "You looked human. Everyone has their moments; you and I are no different."

"Thanks, Akira." Arctic broke the hug and smiled. "I had the ax named and upgraded with you in mind. Go nuts with it at the boss fight."

"I think I will." Akira smiled back. "Thanks for this, Arctic."

"Anytime, my friend."

 **(x)**

 **Countdown to the Crash: Day 6...**

"And now," the emcee spoke loudly onstage, "please welcome our star performer—Eros!" The crowd went wild as the songstress took to the stage, waving and smiling at everyone as she went. Her eyes lit up when she saw that her guildmates—her friends—were cheering for her the loudest.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight," the performer said as they all cheered in response. "Don't lose your voices yet—I haven't even started singing!" Laughter ensued from the audience, and Eros patiently waited for it to die down before resuming. "I've gotta say, it was _very_ difficult choosing the right song for this occasion. As most of the front-liners may know, tomorrow is the day we tackle the boss of Floor 75." At this point, all of the audience was silent. "Finally, I decided that I should go for a motivational song. And I found the perfect one." Eros cleared her throat.

" _Nigitta MESSEEJI, that's rising hope!_ "

( _This message I held, that's rising hope!_ )

" _Yuruganai sekai hijou na genjou tsuzuku kabe wa nanjuusou?_

( _This world that isn't shaking is an abnormal situation, how multilayered is that wall that keeps on continuing?_ )  
 _IMEEJI toori nanka ja nai shizuka ni sawagi dashita honnou_

( _This isn't what I had in mind, creating a nuisance quietly is an instinct_ )

 _Meiro mitai ikitomari nanda mou shikou wa DISUTOOSHON_

( _Like a maze, my life that has come to a standstill is an distortion when you further think about it_ )

 _Youshanai ne itsunomani miushinatta RUUTO, abaredasu_

( _I can't pardon this. Somehow, the route I've lost sight of starts to act violently_ )

" _pay attention!_ _Hey what is it?_  
 _watch your step now! Joushiki nanka iranai_ ( _watch your step now! I don't really need common sense here_ )

 _Are you serious!? no no no, don't worry 1,2,3_  
 _Fukikaesu shinzou no RIZUMU_  
( _The rhythm of my heart is coming back to life_ )

 _Shikai mada kuranderu soredemo ikanakucha_  
 _(My vision is still blurry. Even so I have to go.)_  
 _Kimi ga shinjiteru boku wo uragiru wake ni ikanai tsuyoku KURAKUSHON ga naru_  
 _(I can't possibly betray myself when you've trusted me so much, the strong Klaxon sounds rings)_

 _Kodoku na mama toki ga tattatte nigeru koto oboetatte(My lonely days have passed, and I've learned from my cowardice)_  
 _Atarashii kyou ga kichau kedo_

 _(Though a new day has already arrived)_  
 _Kono negai tatoe mahou ga nakutatte kanaenakya, chikatta(Even if this wish must come true without using magic, I've made a wow.)_  
 _Boku wa kimi to mada mitai mirai arunda yo_  
 _(Here is still a future you and me wants to see)_  
 _Nakisou demo kuyashikute mo tomatte irarenai_  
 _(Filled with regrets, I feel like crying but I can't stop now)_  
 _Nigitta MESSEEJI that's rising hope_  
 _(This message I held, that's rising hope)_

Once Eros gave a curtsy, signifying the end of her performance, everyone went wild—they gave Eros a standing ovation, whooping, whistling and clapping for her. Eros blushed and smiled at all the attention she was receiving, making the audience go even wild. Eros left the stage, and the emcee took it back. "All right, thank you Eros! We would ask for an encore," the emcee spoke loudly over the applause, "but we don't have much time left in the night!"

"Awww!" The crowd booed.

"Tomorrow is the day of the boss raid, and all of the front liners here tonight need to get their sleep!"

"Awww!"

"However!"

"What?!"

"We DO have an influential figure with us tonight! Solar!" The emcee pointed at the leader (whose table Eros had joined). "Why don't you come up here?!"

"Wait, what?" Solar looked around in surprise at everyone's sudden applause and whistling. With a pat on his back from Arctic, Kirito, and Pearce, along with reassuring smiles from Cupid, Eros, Skye, Asuna, and Eros, Solar got up and walked up to the stage, waving at everyone and even giving a few of them a fist-bump. He walked up onto the stage and shook the emcee's hand.

"SPEECH! SPEECH!" Arctic began shouting and pounding his fists on the table. Soon after, everyone else began following his example (Arctic was forced to stop as he was slowly lowering the table's durability, but he made up for it by shouting louder than the rest.)

"Oh. Um..." Solar scratched the back of his head nervously. "I didn't think that I would be doing this, so forgive me if I'm a bit unprepared." The leader cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"It's been two years since we all logged into SAO, for whatever reason. It could have been to make new friends, to escape our lives, or just for the hell of it. Two years since the game's creator, Akihiko Kayaba, decided to trap us in this game." Solar paused. "And two years of loved ones lost. I can guarantee that all of us," he gestured to the audience with both arms, "lost at least one person we got close to in this game. I know I have.

"In the course of the last two years, we've cleared damn near 3/4 of Castle Aincrad, and I can gladly say that I am proud of this progress. I can also say that I am glad to have made the bonds that I did, especially with my guild and friends, all of whom I see as my family. I want to make it known," Solar continued while now looking at the table with his friends—the Tri-Blade Alliance's elites, Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Agil, Lisbeth, and Silica, with Wyvern's Inferno sitting at a nearby table—"that I would go to hell and back for my family.

"I don't have much else to say, other than: Thank you all. Thank you for choosing not to sit idle and go crazy, and for fighting alongside one another. Walk tall, my friends. And remember to always look out for each other. That's what family does, after all." Solar walked off the stage and back to his table, all the while surrounded by up-roaring applause and cheers.

Arctic patted Solar on the back and smiled proudly. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"You wouldn't even have said. You'd probably say 'Go kick some ass'."

"You know it."

 **(x)**

 **Later that night...**

"That was an amazing performance," Arctic said as he stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a white undershirt and pajama bottoms. Skye, who was sitting on the middle of the bed with her knees drawn close to her chest, nodded without making a noise. She was also dressed for bed, wearing a dark pink slip with matching knee-high socks.

"She never ceases to amaze," Skye said quietly. Her boyfriend sat down next to her and stared at her in concern.

"You doin' okay, babe?" He finally asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a start after he performed the action.

"I'm fine," she said in the same tone, looking back down.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I won't press any further," he said after a couple minutes of waiting. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing the window to stare out of it. Eventually, he heard Skye move, and felt her press herself against his back.

"We're almost three-quarters close to beating the game," she said, her voice muffled because of her lips pressing against Arctic's body.

"Oh yeah, didn't really notice that," Arctic said as he looked up. Almost as if in response to his action, Skye wrapped her arms around Arctic's neck while still pressing against him.

"Sweetie..."

"Hm?"

"If I'm being honest..." Skye fell quiet immediately after speaking.

"You can tell me. I won't judge, you know that." Arctic turned back to smile at her, only to drop that smile when he heard her sniffle.

"I don't want to leave SAO."

"Wha—? Why?" Skye lifted her head up and smiled sadly at him.

"Because my life in the real world is total shit. My dad left my mom after getting her pregnant with me, and she raises me all on her own; my only connection to him is a ridiculously expensive gift every year on my birthday, and an annual visit from my younger brother. I have no friends and..." Skye buried her head in her boyfriend's neck again, tears now soaking the fabric of his shirt. "I don't want to lose you," she finished, now openly crying.

After Skye had finished speaking, Arctic sat in silence as she cried. _I didn't know that's how she felt. I'm scared of losing her too. I don't want to lose anybody, especially my family. Not after..._ He grit his teeth and said nothing still, a teardrop slowly making its way down his cheek. Slowly, Arctic turned to face Skye, and wrapped his arms gently around her. "I feel the same way." The words that had left his mouth prompted Skye to look up at him, her eyes still brimming with tears. "I can't say I know how your real life feels, but I _can_ say my life hurt me too. I lost people I thought were always gonna stick with me. It's no different here, either." A small chuckle escaped Arctic's lips as he continued, "The only real difference was that I was able to hide behind my pain; no one I knew in the real world was here, so you guys couldn't tell if I was hurting or not." Smiling warmly, Arctic kissed Skye's forehead and tightened his grip, pulling her closer to him. "I promise I won't die until we clear the game and we live out the rest of our lives together IRL. I'll do everything I can to find you and the others."

"R-Really?" Skye asked as she stared into his eyes.

Arctic smiled. "Really."

Skye held up her pinkie. "Pinkie promise?"

Arctic rolled his eyes. "You're lucky that you're adorable when you're being childish." Arctic wrapped his pinkie around hers. "Yeah. Pinkie promise." They both held each other tightly and smiled. "Whaddya say to dinner and a movie after this?"

"That sounds amazing."

 **(x)**

 **A/N: I'm so sorry that this took so long to upload. I wanted to finish this ASAP, but school and college classes kept me busy and I was watching My Hero Academia. Rest assured, we'll try our best to upload more chapters more frequently. And as always, Read and Review!**

 **S/N: Till next time!**


	29. Chapter 29: A Step Over

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 29: A Step Over**

 **A/N: Heya! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This chapter is the second-to-last chapter for the Aincrad Arc.**

 **S/N: Also, heads up: While we were editing this chapter, we decided to make the boss fight more realistic than it actually was. Well, as realistic as a boss fight in a video game can be.**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**

 **"Darkness Blade"**

 _Dreams_ / _Thoughts_

" _Messages_ "

 **(x)**

Upon waking up, Arctic yawned and stretched, opening his eyes while avoiding the coded sunlight. He sat on his bed for a while, noting the empty space in the bed next to him; Skye must have woken up early and went downstairs for breakfast. _Good. It'll give me enough time to reevaluate the strategy._

As he pondered the strategy to clear the 75th floor, Arctic facepalmed as he discovered a possibly fatal error. _Shit, what about the dungeon?_ He groaned and held his head in his hands, trying to think of a solution. After a spell, he looked up. _Wait a minute._

He opened his messages and selected a contact. " _I have a favor to ask you._ " After he sent the message, he started getting dressed. After he put on his coat, he received a reply. Opening his messages, he read the following and smiled: " _Of course. Anything for you, Shadow._ " After responding to the message, he decided to head downstairs and get some breakfast.

Hopefully Akira and the others made something good.

 **(x)**

"Ah," Heathcliff smiled when Solar, along with the entire Tri-Blade Alliance, stepped out of the warp gate and approached him and the rest of the front-liners, including Wyvern's Inferno and Fuurinkazan. "Shall we begin?"

"Please," Solar replied as they all started walking. "Heathcliff, I've been meaning to ask, but what are we gonna do about the dungeon to the boss room?"

"Don't worry," Arctic interrupted Heathcliff as the latter opened his mouth to speak. "I pulled a favor; the dungeon should be completely clear by the time we get there."

"Wow," Klein laughed, patting Arctic on the back while they walked. "You sure came prepared, huh?"

"What about the tanks and armored units?" Alice asked in concern. "With their low speed stats, I don't think we can make it before the monsters respawn."

"Well, look at the bright side," Arctic smiled. "Now our slower fighters can get an increase in AGI."

Kirito chuckled. "Isn't that a bit of a dick move?"

"Dude, it's me," Arctic chuckled.

"You at least have a backup if we can't make it, right?" Klein asked.

"Dude," Arctic said more seriously. "It's me. I don't think we'll need it anyways. We're here."

Heathcliff hummed as he stared at the door in front of him: the door to the dungeon. "How shall we proceed?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Arctic asked rhetorically, walking past the commander and placing his hand on the door. "We're going in."

"Seriously?" Many of the players groaned.

"Look, I have no problem with teleporting to the gate and leaving you all to trek through the dungeon. If the front lines are as tough as they say, then a little walk through an empty dungeon wouldn't hurt you. Now let's go, 'cause we're wasting time."

 **(x)**

"And we're here," Arctic announced. Indeed, the group had stopped in front of the huge double-doors that most often served as the entrance to the floor boss's dungeon. He turned to face the other players—and facepalmed when he saw them all out of breath, some players even keeling over. "Ugh, fine. Take an hour for rest, you giant pansies," the mercenary muttered the last three words, ignoring the tired cheers of the players who opted to follow this madman.

"Oh, yeah," Klein asked Arctic, obviously being one of the more energetic players, "I wanted to ask: why are you dressed like Shadow?"

"Huh?" Arctic looked at himself; he was indeed dressed in the iconic black armor and trench coat of the mercenary, sans the facial covering. "Oh. This set gives me a boost in my overall stats, and I figured that we could use this powerup, in case we need to turn the tide in our favor."

"Gotcha. You should probably rest up, so go do that!" Klein optimistically said, pointing a thumb at himself. "I'll wake you up when it's time."

"Okay. Thanks, man." Arctic leaned against the wall and slowly sunk down, sitting down with his knees drawn slightly close to his chest, letting his mind drift as he closed his eyes.

 **(x)**

 _Arctic opened his eyes, if only due to the immediate absence of light. He looked down at himself to see that he was dressed in his normal clothing. He didn't even need to look around to know he was in the same landscape that resulted in his PTSD. "All right!" He shouted to the darkness. "Whatever shit you got for me this time, I'm ready!" He continued with his arms spread out to the sides, bracing himself for whatever nightmares will come his way._

 _"What are you talking about?" A monotonous voice that held a dark tone spoke behind the hero. Jumping slightly in surprise, Arctic turned to see his other half—Shadow—standing beside him. "There's no nightmares or anything as such. I just wanted to tell you something."_

 _"Oh yeah?" Arctic folded his arms over his chest, a disbelieving look on his face. "And what's that?"_

 _"Goodbye." Arctic immediately uncrossed his arms, a look of shock adorning his face._

 _"Come again?" Arctic questioned while leaning in closer to be able to hear the mercenary better._

 _"You heard me. This is the last time we're ever going to be face-to-face—the last time I'm going to be in existence." Shadow raised his left hand, studying it as he continued to speak. "The catalyst of my 'creation' was Takano's death, because although accidental, it_ was _by your hands. You never forgave yourself, which led to Kayaba sending you the Shadow Set, and you accepted it."_

 _"Wow." Arctic blinked twice. "That was exactly right."_

 _"Of course it was. We_ are _the same." Shadow lowered his hand and stared directly at the blue-clad hero. "The decision you made that day influenced whether or not I would be given life; you chose to wear the armor, if only to escape the pain. What I'm saying is that my very existence centers around grief—_ your _grief. As long as you kept beating yourself up over Takano's death, I would still exist."_

 _"And I moved on," Arctic said with a tone of realization, "and I'm with Skye now, meaning I've gotten past Takano, especially when she told me herself she forgave me."_

 _"Exactly. Now that your broken heart has been repaired, there's no reason for me to be here." Shadow turned away from Arctic, his voice now taking on a noticeably heavier tone. "So, this is goodbye." The mercenary removed his hood and turned back to face Arctic. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and blinked; his eyes shifted from an angry red to a vibrant blue, and Arctic found himself staring at...himself, albeit a paler, more somber version of himself. "Go live without regrets," Shadow said, now having the exact same voice as his host. "Live and love, and don't let anything weigh you down from here on." Patting Arctic on the shoulder, Shadow put his hood back on, turned and started to walk away._

 _"Wait." The mercenary stopped, but didn't look back to Arctic. "I'm gonna try for that 'Happily Ever After' ending, just so you know." This time, Shadow looked back, smiling._

 _"Go for it. You earned it, after all." After he said that, he began to walk again._

 _"_ We _earned it." Shadow stopped again when he heard his (now former) host say, only to scoff and shake his head with a smile and resume walking. He didn't stop walking this time, disappearing into the darkness._

 **(x)**

Waking up with a start, Arctic looked up to see Klein kneeling next to him. "Yo!" Klein said jovially, pointing a thumb behind him. "It's time for the fight."

"Right," Arctic stated, taking Klein's hand to help him up. Brushing himself off, the hero walked to the front of the group, turning so that the door to what would perhaps be the biggest fight of their lives was behind him. He scanned the team to make sure that no one was missing, and turned back around to face the door once he was satisfied. Before he opened the door, however, he looked down at his hands, feeling no trace of anger or anything that would hint at Shadow being present. _So, it actually happened._ Shaking his head, Arctic put a hand on the door, looking back at everyone. "Let's go," he simply said before opening the door.

The room was dark as everyone began to enter the room. "Everyone, take your positions," Arctic ordered in a whispered voice. The frontline players gave various sounds of affirmation and quickly got to where the strategy placed them.

"Do you know what the boss looks like?" Kirito quietly asked, dual blades out and guard up.

"No," Arctic replied. "I made sure to keep my party from going to the middle of the room, because that's how the first scout party died."

Solar cautiously walked over to the middle of the room and looked up. The gasp of shock and horror that escaped his lips drew the attention of everyone in the room. "Did anyone order a giant, skeletal centipede with scythe arms and red eyes?" He said slowly with a shaky voice.

"Um, no," a front-liner said in a confused tone. "Why'd you ask?"

"Then WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" The leader shouted as he pointed upwards, directly above him. As everyone followed Solar's finger, they too gave similar reactions of horror and fear. Above them was a giant skeletal centipede with scythe arms and red eyes. _The Skull Reaper_ , the boss's name read. Five health bars filled up as it came crashing down, roaring as it straightened.

Immediately, it swiped at the people closest to it, hitting two players while the others dodged back, save for Heathcliff raising his shield. The two players who were hit were knocked back and shattered instantly, shocking everyone as the realization dawned on them: The boss can one-shot anybody it hits.

"Everyone," Arctic said slowly, drawing his sword. "ATTACK!" He shouted while pointing his sword at the Skull Reaper. Everyone shouted various battle cries as they attacked the boss from their positions. What may be the biggest fight of their lives...

Has only just begun.

 **(x)**

"Fighters, block!" Arctic shouted, blinking across the dungeon. The majority of the players all did as the hero ordered, rushing forward and blocking the Skull Reaper's swipes with perfect timing, their shields glowing as a result of being magic armor. Immediately, they called for a switch, letting their AGI partners deal critical damage. Meanwhile, the frontal assault was doing their job right, as they all managed to keep the boss's attention to them; Arctic was especially effective in this part of the attack. However, they couldn't keep all the attention to themselves, as the boss was attacking the other players who got to close. Rose happened to be one of the unfortunate players, screaming in pain as the boss swiped at her but missed, with the resulting wind knocking her away with enough force to make her slide across the entire main platform and fall over the edge.

"No you don't!" Arctic grunted as he grabbed Rose's hand after the latter tried—and failed—to grab the ledge. He pulled her up and used a healing crystal on her, saying, "I'm not letting Jacob lose anyone else, least of all you. Get some rest."

"That's twice you saved me," Rose panted, smiling at her savior, who simply blushed and looked away.

"Yeah, yeah. Think you could sit out for a bit?"

"Hell no. I wanna be part of the group that got everyone out."

"Fine. But be careful. Like I said, I'd rather Jacob _not_ lose anyone else."

"Yessir!" Arctic simply shook his head and smiled, warping away from the now able-bodied Rose.

"Have you managed to find a weak spot?" Arctic asked Pearce once he warped beside the archers.

"We're about to find out," Pearce smirked, releasing his charged arrow high up into the sky and letting it fall on the boss; apparently, Pearce had used that as his signal to fire, as all of the other archers let loose from the other platforms, striking the boss in multiple places. "Dammit," Pearce said quietly, clenching his bow tightly.

"What's up?"

"There's no weak spot," Cupid realized.

"Seriously? Shit," Arctic said the last word under his breath. "Good work guys. Keep it up."

"Right!" Both archers nodded. Arctic teleported and watched the boss from another platform, looking for a spot that wouldn't be as guarded or armored as the rest of the body. His eyes locked in on the the tail of the boss. _Gotcha,_ he thought as he switched to his scythe and charged it, throwing it at the boss and warping.

The warp-strike had successfully caught the boss off guard, as it stumbled and fell to to the floor. Wasting no time, Solar rushed and struck the boss, stepping back and beckoning for any one of the frontal assault. "Hit it!"

Skye was the first to step up, slicing the boss with Solar, before jumping back; up next was Heathcliff, who rushed in and bashed the Skull Reaper's head with his shield and held it over his head so his fellow leader could jump off and slam his sword down on it; the third to add to the combo was Kirito, who dashed and slashed the boss, standing back-to-back with Solar as he repeated the former's actions; Asuna was fourth, stabbing the boss multiple times while Solar unleashed a flurry of iaijutsu slashes; Eros jumped in and elegantly attacked the boss, simultaneously dodging Solar's swipes; Bella dashed through and slashed the boss repeatedly, allowing Solar to land a Vertical Arc; Ren ran in with his Crimson Flash and dashed through with Solar as the latter activated his Quick Draw; Helios stampeded in, slashing wildly, causing Solar to dodge the former's swipes after finishing his own swipes; Arctic warped in from above and stabbed the boss, allowing Solar to slice through its ribcage. As all of this occurred, all of the other fighters were going all out from their positions, slashing, slicing, swiping, and shooting at the boss.

"Let's wrap this up!" Ren shouted as everyone got ready for the finishing blows. Ren dashed through using Crimson Flash at full power; Helios jumped and slammed his axe down at the Skull Reaper; Asuna charged a Wind sword skill and repeatedly hit the boss, dashing through it as well; Bella charged Ice sword skills and ran a circle around the boss, striking it as she ran; Kirito charged at the boss and brought his Fire skill-enhanced dual blades down, then back up to hit the boss with a total of four powerful strikes; Heathcliff bashed the boss and slashed at it with a Holy sword skill; Eros charged a Water sword skill and activated the Tsumujiguruma sword skill, jumping back immediately after landing; Skye activated Lightning Crash and hit the boss with one powerful Lightning-type strike, which amounted to three; Arctic charged a Dark sword skill and side-flipped three times, bringing his sword down with each flip, striking harder and harder, finally slamming the sword skill-enhanced Darkness Blade on the boss; Solar charged his Quick Draw with a Void sword skill, dashing and slicing through the boss with all of his strength, then spun his sword and sheathed it as he straightened. The second he sheathed his sword, a slashing sound was heard, with the slash being visible.

The boss gave an ungodly screech as it collapsed, its eyes losing its malicious glow. "I-is it dead?" Klein asked, his sword at the ready.

"If it was," Agil answered, "shouldn't it have shattered by now?"

"Yeah," Solar said, uncertain as to what the boss's fate is. He began walking towards the boss, the uncertain feeling stemming within him growing stronger with every step. As he outstretched a hand to the boss, Pearce was watching from afar—and gasped when he saw the boss's eyes light up.

"BOSS, LOOK OUT!" He shouted. "IT'S STILL ALIVE!" As the archer blurted out the last few words, the Skull Reaper got up and roared, slicing and spinning at everything and anything that wasn't moving. Reflexively, Solar brought his hands up in an X formation to block the attack. However, he was knocked away because of the sheer force, slamming into Skye as the latter got ready to catch her friend; the force of the impact was so great, the two Tri-Bladers were sent flying and crash-landing on one of the higher platforms, falling unconscious and shocking all the players who were present.

Immediately, the archers who were on the platform got to work on healing the two fallen while everyone else geared up to fight once more. Warping to see how his two closest friends were faring, Arctic stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Skye had...barely any HP left. He tried to say something, to run to her side...

But he can't.

All Arctic could do was silently look out at the dungeon platforms, at the players who were fighting once more, at the Skull Reaper as it roared...

And felt a black veil mask his world, making it fall dark.

 **(x)**

"Dammit," Kirito said as he and Asuna blocked an oncoming swipe. "I thought we had him with that massive combo."

"I should've known," Asuna muttered. She looked at Kirito and stated, "This is the third-quarter boss; all the others were no joke, but this is especially difficult. There's no way a combo like that would've killed it."

Before Kirito could actually respond, he looked ahead of him—and shoved Asuna out of the way of a sweeping slice. Kirito knew it was an attack that couldn't be parried, so he brought his swords up to block it, closing his eyes as he braced for the potential deathblow.

Instead of feeling hard bone clashing against steel, the beater heard something completely different. He opened his eyes to see Arctic standing in front of the couple, the boss reeling as if it were parried. From his slightly hunched-over stance to the black glow emanating from his sword, Kirito deduced that Arctic had activated the **Darkness Blade**. "Thanks," Kirito muttered, even though he knew all too well that his friend almost always lost his humanity while he activated his Unique Skill.

 **"Think you two can sit out?"** **He** asked Kirito and Asuna, looking back at them with black eyes and blue beater and his wife both blinked in surprise when they realized **he** was concerned for their safety, as Arctic almost always thought about killing while the Darkness Blade was active.

"Um, sure," Asuna stammered.

 **"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me,"** **he** growled, walking towards the now-fully recovered boss, **"I'm putting this skeleton back in its closet."** After this declaration, **Arctic** dashed and shoulder-tackled the boss, stunning it again before roaring and slashing with his sword.

 **(x)**

Solar groaned and held his head, sitting up and looking around. _How the hell did I get here?_ When he heard groaning beside him, he looked to his right to see Skye, at a reasonable amount of HP but rendered unconscious. _At least she's alright._ When he heard a roar echo through the dungeon, he looked down...to see that Arctic had activated the Darkness Blade and was going after the boss with a vengeance. _Arctic? Why did he activate the Darkness Blade?_ Slowly, Solar rose to his feet and adjusted his...

Wait. _Where are my wristbands?_ Shakily, Solar looked down at his wrists to see his wristbands shredded beyond all repair. He stared down at his now-naked hands, feeling helpless as the remnants shattered. Then, he grit his teeth as a single tear streaked down his face, an indescribable feeling of hatred and rage. He looked down to his side, and seeing Infinity Blazer broken—for real this time—had enraged him even more. As his treasured weapon shattered, his hand, as if with a mind of its own, opened his inventory and took out another sword. Growling angrily, Solar chucked the still-forming weapon with all his might.

 **(x)**

 **"Die, you piece of shit!"** **Arctic** roared, dashing towards the Skull Reaper, parrying its slash and punching it with a martial arts sword skill. **"DIE!" Arctic** held his blade close to his face while pointing it at the boss. He dashed towards the boss, ready to kill...

But jumped back when he saw a glowing object rocket towards the boss. **"What the hell?!"** **He** growled when he saw Solar seemingly warp to the object—now revealed to be Caliburn. Solar screamed as he broke the boss's guard. He held the fake holy weapon with both hands and delivered a massive horizontal strike. The boss fumbled to the floor, now vulnerable and struggling to get up. **"How're you still standing?" Arctic** said as he readied his blade next to Solar.

"Anger, hate, and fear are excellent motivators," Solar replied coldly, readying his blade for an all-out assault. "We switch out after each blow. And I'm not asking."

 **"Yessir. Lead the way," Arctic** shot a (surprisingly evil-looking) grin at Solar as he said that.

"GO!" Solar dashed forward and slashed the boss horizontally. "Switch!" Solar ducked as **Arctic** rolled over his back and slammed his sword down on the boss.

 **"Switch!" Arctic** jumped back as Solar performed a Sword-Flip technique and hit the Skull Reaper 5 times.

"Switch!" Solar jumped back and let **Arctic** side-flip three times, striking the boss harder with each flip and strike.

 **Arctic** floored the boss again as it was about to get up with a slam to the head area. **"Switch!"**

Solar dashed in and sliced the boss. This cycle repeated for few more hits, before **Arctic** switched out with Solar again, with the latter slicing through the boss three times. The first two slices cut the boss' scythe arms off, and the third slice cutting off the boss' stinger-like appendage; as a result, the "stinger" lodged itself into the head of the Skull Reaper. For good measure, Solar stabbed Caliburn into the boss' nose area. He turned to Arctic and simply said, "Kill it."

 **Arctic** nodded in response before spring-boarding off of Caliburn and launched himself upwards to nearly the top of the room. He readied his sword and thrusted it downwards, roaring with rage and determination as he plummeted downwards to stab the boss.

Solar pulled his sword out, then back-flipped twice away from the Skull Reaper, spinning his sword so it was positioned in an ice-pick grip behind his back after landing. He quickly activated Vorpal Strike (a skill that allowed the user to travel double the length of their weapon), and let it extend so it was twice Caliburn's length. He spun around slowly, and when he spun 360 degrees, he yelled "DIE ALREADY!", activating the Quick Draw and went through the boss. The boss was cut cleanly in half, and shattered completely when Arctic stabbed through it on his way down.

The two breathed heavily as everyone else collapsed, save for Heathcliff and a few other players. **Arctic** kept his sword planted in the ground as he deactivated his Unique Skill. He pulled it out of the ground and teleported to where Skye was, as Akira ran over to Solar and held him close.

 **(x)**

Skye tiredly opened her eyes when she heard someone sit close to her. "Hey," Arctic smiled when she turned her head to face him.

"Hey," she smiled back, sitting up—and groaning in slight pain.

"Whoa, there." Arctic gently pulled her close and buried his face into her neck. "I thought I lost you," he muttered, tightening his grip slightly.

"You couldn't get rid of me on your best day," Skye lightly chuckled while she got comfortable in his grip.

"I should hope not. You're too important to me." She blushed and smiled, looking back at him.

"Aw, thanks. I hope you know—"

"I know. I love you too," Arctic picked his head up and smiled at her. Skye's smile grew as the two shared a kiss.

 **(x)**

 **Meanwhile...**

"How many of us're dead?" Klein asked tiredly as he slumped down, landing on his ass.

"Counting the two who died in one hit," Kirito responded as he fell next to Asuna, "seven of us are dead."

"Oh my god," Agil said in shock at hearing that.

"Look it at this way," Pearce interrupted. "If nobody followed the strategy, it could've been far worse."

"I guess," Kirito responded. He eyed Solar, who was currently being held by Akira. "That's strange."

"What is?" Asuna asked.

Kirito got up and walked to Solar. He sat down next to his friend, and tapped his shoulder. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Not counting the one you just asked?" Solar replied with a friendly smirk.

"Ha ha," Kirito rolled his eyes.

"Ask away."

"How'd you survive? The boss, from what we saw, could one-shot whatever it hit."

"I've been wondering that too. And I do have a theory." Solar looked at Akira, who temporarily let him go. He then looked down at his now bare wrists. "When I raised my arms to block the hit, my wristbands must've triggered some kind of life-saving move. Maybe like a Battle Continuation perk that I didn't know about. That's probably also why I don't have them anymore."

"And they were the last physical reminder you had of your brother, right? That's why you went ballistic," Akira asked.

"Exactly."

"Let me be the first to say," Kirito said before getting up and getting ready to go back to Asuna, "that you are scary when you're angry."

Solar watched Kirito walk back to his love before he wrapped his arms around _his_ love. "That's the first time I heard that."

"If it helps, I thought it was kinda hot," Akira said as she got comfortable in his hold. She and Solar jumped out of it, however, when they heard steel meet virtual flesh.

 **(x)**

Kirito sat down next to Asuna and looked around at the room. Everyone was now resting on the main platform, and were sitting down—except for Commander Heathcliff, who was standing up straight with his sword planted in the ground. Kirito kept his gaze fixed on the commander—and gasped in shock. The commander had joined him, Asuna and the Tri-Blade Alliance in the frontal assault; everyone's HP was reduced to below the halfway point, save for Skye, as she was nearly killed and had her HP restore completely. But the commander's HP wasn't even near the halfway point.

Flashbacks of his duel with Heathcliff—the fight he had lost—raced through his mind as he steadied Elucidator, standing up straight. "What's wrong?" Asuna asked her husband when she felt him stand up. Focused only on his next course of action, Kirito dashed and struck at Heathcliff, shocking all that were in the room.

"Are you insa—?" Arctic began to shout, but stopped himself when he saw purple barrier stop the tip of the beater's blade from reaching the commander. His eyes widened in shock as he saw a small, purple hexagonal sign over the commander's avatar.

"Immortal...Object?" Ren asked with an uneasy tone.

Solar tightened his grip on Akira, his mind taking him back to when Yui killed off the Fatal Scythe—she, too, bore the sign "Immortal Object", and the boss couldn't even touch her. "Commander," he began in a steely voice, "care to explain why _that's_ over your head?"

 **(x)**

 **A/N: Annnnnddddd that's done. Just one more chapter to go, and the Aincrad Arc is done. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We'll get the next one out as soon as we can!** **Also, I'm still waiting on Chapter 9 of "The Silver Shadow," ericwinter. I understand you're human—we all are—and real life is keeping you busy, and I shouldn't be saying anything. But it's been 11 months, man, and I am** _ **dying**_ **to know what happens next! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**

 **And as always, Read and Review!**

 **S/N: Till next time!**


	30. Chapter 30: End of the World

**The Tri-Blade Alliance**

 **Chapter 30: End of the World**

 **A/N: This is it, everyone. Last chapter for the Aincrad Arc.**

 **S/N: We sincerely hope that you all enjoyed reading so far, and there will be more to come. If you're one of those people who feel that a story is finished if a major arc is, don't worry, there's plenty more of The Tri-Blade Alliance to come.**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.**

 **Key:**  
 _Thoughts_

 **(x)**

"Commander," Solar began in a steely tone, "care to explain why _that's_ over your head?" Reflexively, he held Akira closer to him, uncertain—and slightly afraid—of what "Heathcliff" might do next.

"I think I got the answer to that," Kirito said as he straightened. "The reason why the commander's HP never hits yellow is 'cause he's protected by the system. You know, ever since day one, something's always bugging me about this whole thing. I was always wondering, 'Where is he hiding while he watches us and controls everything in this world?'

"Well, the answer's pretty simple. It's basic psychology. In fact, it's so simple, every kid knows it. There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG...is there, Akihiko Kayaba?" Everyone gasped in shock at Kirito's declaration, looking at the "commander" to make sure the beater was lying.

Heathcliff merely smirked. "Just for my curiosity, would you mind telling me how you figured it out?" Everyone looked at the "commander" in shock and betrayal, save for Kirito.

"The first time I knew something was up was during the duel," Kirito said in a composed manner. "Remember when you turned the tables on me? That move was way too fast."

Heathcliff maintained his smirk and closed his eyes as he said, "Yes, I thought so. It was a mistake to think that it would go unnoticed by you. But you were so strong and fast, the only choice I had was to engage the system's assist mode. Yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba." Heathcliff opened his eyes. "And now that my identity's been revealed, it should come with no surprise that I'm the final boss on the top floor."

"So you've been playing us all this time?!" Arctic growled/shouted, tightening his grip protectively on his girlfriend.

"Yeah," Kirito narrowed his eyes. "So the strongest player in the whole game ends up being the final boss. Kind of cliché, isn't it?"

"Actually," Heathcliff/Kayaba replied, "I like that kind of angle. One thing's for sure. I always thought you'd be the one standing before me at the very end. You know, dual-wielding is a rare skill, the kind that's only given to the player with the fastest reaction time. He is the hero of this story, the one who rises up to challenge the demon king. But you...the power you displayed exceeded my expectations. I guess these unexpected twists and turns are what makes MMORPGs so thrilling to play."

"Our loyalty..." One of the KOB soldiers said while he kept his head and sword pointed toward the ground. "Our hope...How dare you...How dare you?" He demanded, his voice rising in volume. "HOW DARE YOU?" He screamed as he jumped up, bringing his sword down on the "commander". Swiftly, Heathcliff opened his menu and pressed a couple of buttons, which caused his would-be assailant to fall to the floor, paralyzed.

"Paralysis?" Solar said slowly to himself, groaning after as he, Akira and the rest of the front-liners were paralyzed, save for Kirito. "Oh hell no! You don't get off that easily!" Solar growled, easily breaking free due to his maxed-out Fortitude skill, advancing towards Heathcliff. Swiftly, Heathcliff manipulated Solar's paralysis so it became red, forcing Solar to give a shout of pain as he fell to his knees, only within arm's reach from Akira.

"Don't force my hand," Heathcliff stated, looking down at Solar. "You're not the one I wish to face. Now be a good player and stay down." Solar said nothing, choosing not to test the GM's patience anymore and doing nothing, albeit reluctantly.

"Kirito..." Asuna strained as she fell, being supported only by her husband.

"What's the plan now, huh?" Kirito pressed Heathcliff for answers. "You're gonna kill everyone here and cover it up or something?"

"Oh God no," Heathcliff replied. "That wouldn't be very sporting of me. That wouldn't. No, I have a better idea. I'm going to head to for the top floor and wait for all of you there. I'll be inside the Ruby Palace. It's a shame I have to leave you all so soon. I spent lots of time developing the Knights of the Blood Oath and other elite players." At this point, the "commander" turned and started to walk towards the stairs. "Oh well, you're all strong, so I'm sure you'll reach me...eventually."

"Before I go, Kirito," Heathcliff turned around and planted his shield into the ground. "I feel you deserve some kind of reward for discovering my identity, so...I'll give you a chance."

"Chance for what?" Kirito asked, now kneeling next to his paralyzed wife.

"To fight me one-on-one right here and now. Oh, and my immortality will be deactivated. Defeat me and you clear the game, and all of the players will be able to log out from this world, no strings attached. What do you say?"

"Don't do it, Kirito," Asuna begged her husband. "I don't like it. We should fall back." As Asuna said that, Kirito immediately began to have flashbacks of all of the players—some of whom he knew—that have died in SAO. He clenched his hand into a fist as they ran through his mind.

 _I have to..._ the beater thought. "Okay, then, let's finish it," he said aloud to Heathcliff.

"Kirito!" Asuna shouted as the beater stood up.

"I'm sorry," Kirito said as he looked down at her. "I can't run away if it means ending this."

"You better not die," Asuna conceded after a moment. "You hear me?"

"No, I'm gonna win. I promise I'm gonna end this world."

Only when Asuna called out to him, "Okay. I believe in you, Kirito," did the beater start advancing to his opponent.

"Kirito, don't!" Agil shouted at his friend.

"Kirito!" Klein shouted from the ground, not wanting his friend to potentially die.

"Agil..." Kirito began when he stopped in front of his friends. "Thanks for supporting a lot of the players in the game since day one. Yeah, I knew you acted like all about the money, but I know you spent every penny you had on helping intermediate players level up." Kirito then focused his attention to the red-haired samurai. "Klein...I'm sorry I bailed on you that day. I think about it all the time."

"D-damn it, Kirito," Klein said, closing his eyes and letting some tears fall. "Don't you apologize! Don't you dare apologize now! I won't accept it! I'll never accept it until we're on the other side and you buy me dinner, God damn it!" Klein shouted.

"You got it." Kirito smiled. "See you on the other side." As he walked past, he made one more stop—this time in front of the Tri-Blade Aliiance's elites. "Solar, Skye...everyone. Thanks for being one of the top guilds in the front lines. I doubt we would've been here without you."

"Kirito..." Solar strained, a single tear falling from his eye.

"Good luck," Akira and Skye said simultaneously, giving the beater warm smiles.

"Don't die," Pearce, Cupid and Eros said, not looking at their friend.

"I won't," Kirito smiled. He then turned his attention to Arctic. "I knew you'd never abandon us, and we sure as hell won't forget all you've done for us, Shadow or not. Thanks."

"Kirito..." Arctic looked down, shielding his eyes from the beater. After a moment, he looked back up and gave Kirito a confident smile. "Win this fight for us."

"You know it." Kirito smiled back and walked up to Heathcliff. "If it's okay, I have a final request to make," he said to the GM.

"What is it?" Heathcliff asked with an amused smile.

"I'm not planning on going down easy. So, if I die today, I want your word you'll fix it so Asuna doesn't kill herself."

Heathcliff's smile grew as he replied, "As you wish."

"No, Kirito!" Asuna shouted at her husband. "That's not fair! You can't do that! It's not fair! No! Kirito!"

As Heathcliff adjusted his HP to match his opponent's and disabled his immortality, Kirito thought to himself, _This isn't some in-game duel. It's a fight to the death._ Kirito clenched his fists and drew his weapons. _That's fine with me, 'cause I'm gonna kill him!_ Immediately after he finished that thought, both he and Heathcliff disappeared from their spots, reappearing and clashing in the middle of the platform. Kirito broke the clash and slammed his swords down on Heathcliff, who brought his shield up to block the attack. _He can block whatever I throw at him, 'cause he designed the dual-wielding skill. And he knows all the combos._ Kirito continued to beat relentlessly against Heathcliff's shield, the impacts forcing the GM to back up. _I have to beat him with my own power, without using the sword skills. Faster! I gotta go faster!_ Kirito picked up the pace, eventually cornering Heathcliff. But then...

Heathcliff had grazed Kirito's cheek, causing the beater to lose focus, if only briefly, and mistakenly activated the Dual Blades skill "The Eclipse." Kirito's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, while Heathcliff smirked. _I'm sorry, Asuna. Please keep living..._ Heathcliff blocked each and every one of Kirito's attacks, the last hit holding so much force that Dark Repulsor had broken, and Kirito went into the post-motion delay that came from activating such a high-level skill. Heathcliff took advantage of this and rushed forward while charging a sword skill.

"Game over, Kirito," Heathcliff smirked.

Before the blade slashed through, however, a white figure came in and took the hit—Asuna. She fell back into Kirito's arms, where he watched her HP drop to zero helplessly. Everyone who was watching gasped in shock or closed their eyes to avoid watching the tragic scene unfold. "Asuna...Asuna..." Kirito's eyes began to water as he watched his wife's body start to glow. "You can't...You can't be..."

Asuna smiled sadly as tears started to flow down her glowing cheeks. "I'm sorry...Goodbye..." was all she said before closing her eyes and shattering. Everyone could only watch in tears as Kirito desperately tried to grab the remaining polygons of his now-dead wife, failing to prevent them from slipping past his fingers. When he realized she was gone for good, he collapsed to his knees and started crying silently, but openly at the same time.

"Now, that was a surprise," Heathcliff said with a smile to match his amused tone. "I'm sure I never programmed a way for players to neutralize their own paralysis. I guess sometimes these things happen." Kirito slowly unclenched his left hand, moving it over to the sheath containing Lambent Light with the same speed. "Hm?" The beater unsheathed the rapier and picked up Elucidator.

Kirito approached Heathcliff, appearing to have lost the will to fight, as he swung Elucidator slowly and without conviction, allowing the GM to dodge the hit. When Kirito brought his sword back up for another swing, Heathcliff merely closed his eyes and sighed, knocking Elucidator out of his hands. Kirito did nothing, not even flinching as Heathcliff ran his sword through him. Kirito simply looked down at the blade pierced through his chest before looking up at the sword's owner. Knowing there was nothing he could do, Kirito simply closed his eyes and waited for his HP to drop to zero. _It's over now..._

 _"I believe in you, Kirito."_ Kirito gasped as Asuna's voice rang in his ears, falling back and shattering, seemingly joining his wife in the afterlife...until his fragments turned gold instead of disappearing, and reformed. "Not yet..." The beater's avatar reappeared in front of his killer, transparent as if he were a ghost.

"Huh?" Heathcliff seemed surprised at this sudden turn of events.

 _"_ Not yet!" Kirito clenched his teeth and walked forward, causing Heathcliff to step back. Kirito raised Lambent Light and picked his head up. "AHHH!" The beater shouted as he ran the rapier through the smirking GM. Heathcliff said nothing, and closed his eyes as his HP bar disappeared, having dropped to zero. _We did it, didn't we?_ Kirito thought as he looked down at his wife's weapon, the rapier pierced through Heathcliff, before finally shattering and causing a bright flash. His fragments didn't disappear; rather, they spread all around Castle Aincrad, as the following announcement played through the floors of the castle:

" _On November 7_ _th_ _, at 2:55 P.M., the game has been cleared. Repeat, the game has been cleared._ "

 **(x)**

 **(A/N: Play "Sunrise" by Our Last Night)**

"Is it...over?" Skye asked in slight disbelief.

"Yeah...I think so," Eros responded after realizing that this wasn't a dream.

"But we lost Asuna...and Kirito…" Cupid added in sadly.

"As sad as it seems," Solar responded to Cupid, "they gave their lives so everyone else could log out. That's what it looked like, at least. We don't know for sure."

Pearce walked over to his guildmates and plopped down next to Cupid. "I, for one, am hoping they're still alive."

"You're not alone," Arctic said, wrapping an arm around Skye and pulling her closer to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"So...is this it?" Akira asked in an unsure, and even sad, tone.

"You mean the guild?" Solar asked. Akira nodded. "Maybe." Everyone suddenly got sad at the thought—until Solar spoke up again, saying, "But it doesn't have to be the end for _us_."

"What do you mean?" Skye asked, looking over at him.

Solar exhaled to calm himself before answering with, "Shinzou."

"Bless you," Arctic replied.

"No, you dumbass. That's my name. Shinzou Tomoshido."

"What for?" Pearce questioned.

"So we can find each other, and be friends IRL. Why else?"

"Mmm. In that case," Akira spoke up, "I'm Hakari Hashimoto."

"Alex Pearce," Pearce added.

"Your avatar name is your last name?" Solar questioned.

"Yup."

"Respect, man."

"Thanks."

"I'm Rose Lee," Cupid interjected.

"Amanda Smoak," Eros said after a few seconds of silence.

"Aiko Akiyama," Skye shyly added in.

Arctic was silent for a bit before he finally spoke up, saying "Isamu Kagekara."

"So we all know each other's names now, right?" Solar asked. When everyone nodded, he smiled. "Good. I can't wait to see you guys again."

"Yeah," Arctic smiled back. "Me neither."

In an unspoken agreement, the seven friends all congregated for one last group hug. "You guys," Solar said while in the hug, "are the best friends a guy could've asked for."

"We love you too," Arctic said half-jokingly, half-truthfully. On that note, as if on cue, the seven all disappeared, having been officially logged out of Sword Art Online.

 **(A/N: End the song here.)**

 **(x)**

When he opened his eyes, everything was cloudy, causing him to wearily blink. The first thing he saw was the bright fluorescent lights above the bed, which were blinding to him. With effort, he raised his left hand, not surprised to see it bone thin. It took him even more effort to sit up and lean against the headrest of the hospital bed.

 _Is this real?_ Slowly, he removed the NerveGear headset from his head, letting his grown-out hair fall down to his lower back. He closed his eyes and let several tears fall. _It is. We all finally escaped!_ When he heard a knock on his hospital door, he quickly wiped his eyes and looked to see a surprisingly beautiful female doctor at the door.

When she felt his eyes on him, she began walking towards him, smiling. While she was walking, he took note of her appearance. The first thing his eyes went to were— _HOLY SHIT, SHE'S STACKED!_ —what she was wearing; the doctor was wearing the traditional lab coat, as well as a blue collared shirt, a pencil skirt with black leggings, and a stethoscope hanging from her neck to complete the look. Before she reached the bed, he looked at her face, and saw that she had black hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and strikingly familiar blue eyes. _Those eyes…look just like…_

When she was next to his bed, she asked in a joking manner, "Finally awake, huh?" After the patient weakly nodded, she smiled at him again. "Nice to meet you. Before I introduce myself, do you want me to get you some water?" Once again, the patient nodded. "I'll be right back." The doctor left the room and came back seconds later with a full glass of water. The second she handed it to her patient, however, he grabbed it and drank it like a man dying of thirst. "Slow down there, you'll choke if you drink _that_ quickly!"

"Don't…care," he managed to get out after he finished. He set the glass on the nightstand next to him.

"Just be careful! I don't want you dying as soon as you wake up!" She sighed and shook her head slightly before recomposing herself. "Getting past that, I'm Dr. Madoka Kagekara."

The patient's eyes widened in surprise, prompting an eye raise from the observant doctor. "Kagekara? Like...Isamu?"

"Oh!" Dr. Kagekara answered with a surprised tone. "You know my little brother?" The patient nodded. "That'll make taking care of you easier for me. But for the moment, there are other patients that I must attend to. I will see you for your physiotherapy. For now, however," Dr. Kagekara began walking back to the doorway, stopping at the door and turning around to give the patient one last smile before she left, "your family's here to see you, Tomoshido-kun."

 **A/N: Finally, after two or three years, we finished the Aincrad Arc. It was a hell of a ride, and one we both thoroughly enjoyed. I want to thank everyone who decided to give this story a chance and for seeing it through to the end. You don't know how happy it made me to see a new favorite and/or follow, and positive reviews from you all. I'm not sure if I'll add Bella or Wyvern's Inferno in the next arc, or even future installments from this series. I can guarantee you, though—there's gonna be quite a bit of action, and more OCs.**

 **S/N: While we were working on this, I decided to write a story of my own, called Team JEST. It's a RWBY fanfic, and I'd appreciate it if you checked it out. If you think it's trash, well I agree and that's because I rushed it to get to Volume 3. Also, to help with that transition, Arctic and I will write a crossover between our two stories, which (in my story) will take place in between Volumes 2 and 3, with the opening chapter to Volume 3 beginning directly after the crossover. And it'll feature a character that, if you like this story, will leave you pleasantly surprised.**

 **A/N: This normally never works out but write in your reviews who your favorite OC was in this arc, and why. (I'm a person who likes details).**

 **S/N: We** _ **will**_ **read and respond to your reviews, and your choices are from** _ **all**_ **the OC's we've included here, guests or our own. (And a little side note, if you like Wyvern's Inferno, go check out TheSib's stories. They're amazing, I promise.)**

 **A/N: And as always, Read and Review!**

 **S/N: Till next time!**


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